Since hitting theaters on May 29, the success of A24‘s record-breaking release, Backrooms, has been nothing less than incredible. In addition to being A24’s highest-grossing film to-date, the breakout horror film has made Backrooms director Kane Parsons the youngest filmmaker to reach No. 1 at the United States box office, solidifying him as one of the most promising up-and-coming talents in Hollywood.

However, Kane Parsons’ success didn’t necessarily come out of nowhere. As Attack on Titan fans may be aware, Parsons previously plied his craft as a content creator on YouTube, where he once released one of the most popular fan-made miniseries in anime history.

Before Backrooms, Kane Parsons Released the Attack on Titan Historical Footage Miniseries

In 2015, Backrooms director Kane Parsons created his YouTube account, Kane Pixels. Despite only being 10 years old, Parsons would quickly go on to release several amateur shorts on the account, and although none of these early projects were cinema-quality, they hinted at the young creator’s underlying talents.

By 2021, Kane Parsons had significantly more experience with video editing software and VFX, giving him the foundation he needed to create a new type of project. Titled “Attack on Titan // Historical Footage,” Parsons released a YouTube video on February 11, 2021, that reimagined the popular anime series through the lens of found footage.

Thanks to Attack on Titan‘s patented horror-inspired themes and World War-inspired aesthetic, Parsons’ found footage approach was a smash hit with fans that captured the eerie ambience many loved about the AOT franchise.

This unique work would become Kane Parsons’ most viral video yet, and over the next couple of months, the Kane Pixels YouTube account would go on to release five more Attack on Titan-inspired videos, all of which utilized the found footage approach.

Today, each of these videos has over 5 million views on YouTube, with the original short boasting over 13 million views to date. As many Attack on Titan fans still remember, Kane Parsons’ AOT-inspired videos made the rounds on social media during the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading across platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok as they reached various pockets of the anime’s fandom.

Now, it’s a bit surreal to see just how far the creator has come since this moment. Backrooms (2026) might not be related to the adventures of Attack on Titan, but the two will forever share a connection thanks to the work of Hollywood’s hottest new director.

Five Years Later, Kane Parsons Has Taken Hollywood By Storm

Attack on Titan‘s manga ended in 2021, while its anime drew to a close two years later in 2023. Kane Parsons, on the other hand, was just getting started with his Attack on Titan Historical Footage miniseries, and his next project would go on to set him up for his record-breaking directorial debut with A24.

After working on his Attack on Titan-inspired shorts, Kane Parsons shifted his interests to a different concept: the Backrooms copypasta. In what would become the inspiration for A24’s Backrooms, Kane Pixels launched an ongoing Backrooms YouTube miniseries in 2022 that has released over 20 different installments as of 2026. These short films have garnered nearly 200 million views to date, making the groundbreaking success of Backrooms (2026) a bit more understandable in retrospect.

There’s no telling what the future holds for Kane Parsons; the sky is legitimately the limit for a 20-year-old director with a $250 million box office debut under their belt. Thankfully, if his interest in IPs like Attack on Titan and Backrooms is any indication, then A24’s promising star is more than happy to keep pushing the boundaries as he settles into his long-term creative niche.