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A24 learning that the Creative Commons is a potent SCP [1]

['Rob Beschizza']

Date: 2026-09-22  

A24, the independent studio famed for horror movies with perfect aesthetics, is following up its success with The Backrooms with a feature based on the SCP Foundation, another online creepypasta mythos of unclear origins and extremely diverse authorship. Unfortunately, the SCP Foundation Wiki reports that it has nothing to do with the project and that it has received no response to its inquiries, from the filmakers or A24 itself.

A24 does not and cannot have any exclusive rights to anything related to the SCP Foundation, including any films that Spooky Pictures or anyone else may choose to create. The SCP Foundation, all SCPs, and related concepts, characters, etc. are under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 3.0) license. It allows for the production of derivative works, whether commercially or otherwise, subject to certain restrictions. (This is broadly similar to the situation with some open-source software such as Linux, although legal specifics differ.) The "ShareAlike" aspect means that creators of derivative works are obligated to release those works under CC BY-SA 3.0 or later as well. Many fans have created adaptations of the original project by utilizing the rights granted by our license, including unofficial SCPs, cartoons, dramatic readings, and more. A24, Spooky Pictures, and other involved companies would be able to legally distribute the film to theaters, stream it online, etc. provided they release it under CC BY-SA 3.0 or later. However:

A24 thinking it owned The Backrooms resulted in trouble and it seems to be brandishing the same footgun. The Verge's Terence O'Brien reports that the studio's reputation is on the line.

Unlike Backrooms where A24 worked with the creator of a YouTube series popular within the Backrooms community, it does not appear as if the studio tried to engage the SCP community at all. … DrEverettMann, an SCP Foundation Wiki Admin, told The Verge that, "We have made several attempts to contact them since the announcement of the project but haven't received a response." This isn't just about generating goodwill with fans, either. SCP is an organized community effort with licensing rules.

A24 struck a deal with a particular creator. Perhaps it's clear about where the copyright in that work ends and the rest of it begins. The concern is that it was misled, is otherwise mistaken about what it has licensed, or has a plan to fence it off irrespective of the licensing requirements.

As the SCP Foundation Wiki details, the Share-Alike licensing terms mean a movie based on work published there could not be distributed with DRM, could not create exclusive rights in further licensing or distribution, and various other things obviously unacceptable to Hollywood's regular order of business.

Its objective, it writes, is for A24 to confirm that anything produced will either be released under CC BY-SA 3.0, or for it to make clear it is not making content derivative of the work it has published.



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