8 years later, J.J. Abrams' Portal movie "finally on the rails"

A movie version of Portal is back on track, Star Trek and Lost director J.J. Abrams has said, nearly a decade after we first heard of its existence.

The project still sounds far-off, and there's no word on what has been holding up development - but the wheels now seem to be turning.

"We actually do have a script that's being written for the Portal movie now at [Warner Bros.]," Abrams said today (thanks, IGN) "We're really excited about the take and the pitch, so it feels like that thing's finally on the rails.

"It's got enormous potential for a lot of reasons, one of which is because of the limited narrative of the game, as ingeniously told as it is, the potential of it is so huge. It's gonna be super fun."

(Note he said 'take' there, not 'cake'.)

It's been more than eight years since Abrams and Valve boss Gabe Newell first discussed a collaboration to make Portal and Half-Life films.

There was less good news today for the fate of Half-Life, however.

"The Half-Life thing, we're not actively involved with at the moment," Abrams commented. It's a shame - but Alyx we'll always have the games!