Disney+ pushes into VR originals with immersive version of Marvel animation ‘What If…?’

What If…? (Source: Disney+)

Disney+ has commissioned an interactive instalment of Marvel animated superhero series What If…? for the Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headset.

Produced by Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive, What If…? – An Immersive Story is an hour-long “experience” that reimagines events from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in unexpected ways.

Viewers will be able to use the VR device to take the leading role in an all-new immersive story in which they will traverse across realities. Throughout their journey, they will “come face-to-face with multiversal variants of their favorite characters, learn the mystic arts, and be tasked with harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones.”

The experience represents a step forward for VR orignal storytelling for Disney+, which already offers “environments” that use the mixed reality headset to place viewers within interactive settings including Marvel’s Avengers Tower and the cockpit of Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder from Star Wars. Apple TV+, meanwhile, has launched original immersive content on the device, including Prehistoric Planet Immersive, Adventure and Wildlife.

What If… ? – An Immersive Story is directed by Dave Bushore at Marvel Studios and produced by Shereif M. Fattouh at ILM Immersive. It is written by David Dong and Phil McCarty and executive produced by Bushore, Fattouh, and Brad Winderbaum, with Bryan Andrews serving as consulting producer.

Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP of immersive content at Lucasfilm and ILM Immersive, Mark S. Miller, VP of creative development and production at ILM Immersive, and Jamie Voris, EVP & chief technology officer at The Walt Disney Studios, also serve as executive producers.

“As a kid, my favorite stories were about worlds beyond my own, advanced technologies, and heroes traveling across space and time. What If… ? – An Immersive Story is the next evolution in how we tell our stories, where fans across generations can experience them and live out the adventure alongside their favorite heroes,” said Bushore.