Marvel Studios has announced that an hour-long immersive Disney+ story is on the way to the Apple Vision Pro. The original story is connected to the Disney+ What If…? animated series and will be released as a new app for the Vision Pro.
The What If…? series is based on the popular What If… comic book series that reimagines well-known events from the Marvel Universe in unexpected ways. The Vision Pro What If…? – An Immersive Story experience will allow Marvel fans to “dive into an immersive, narrative-driven and innovative story in mixed reality.”
Users will enjoy multiverse versions of popular Marvel characters, learn the mystic arts, and face the daunting task of harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones.
“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 director and executive producer Dave Bushore. “This experience kicks the door open to the Marvel Universe, and it’s a glimpse of what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.”
Marvel says that users will “cross between augmented and virtual reality” while navigating through the adventure, interacting with the Marvel Universe using their hands and eyes.
“What If…? – An Immersive Story” will utilize the spatial computing capabilities of Apple Vision Pro, delivering a technologically advanced and engaging experience for Marvel fans. Fans will interact with the world around them using their eyes and hands and they move between augmented and virtual reality, living out an exciting narrative adventure.
“This experience is truly groundbreaking and unlike anything we’ve done before,” said executive producer Jamie Voris, EVP/Chief Technology Officer at The Walt Disney Studios. “It’s an exciting new way to become a part of the MCU through a deeply emotional and compelling story.”
Marvel says the experience offers “breathtaking environments” of new and iconic MCU locations. The app will offer “stunning visuals,” as well as support for spatial audio.
“The Disney+ series and comics were the perfect opportunity and story setting for us to jump in and develop this type of adventure because, as the Watcher says, ‘You have been chosen,’ said Bushore.
“That’s the fun at the heart of these new forms of adventures, putting you at the core of the narrative. You are the central protagonist. The characters are on their own journey and you’re the ‘What If’ to their story, which is awesome. You play a pivotal role in the outcome in how their story resolves.”
Marvel Studios has not announced a specific release date for What If…? An Immersive Story, but the studio says that more information is on the way soon.
In other Apple Vision Pro-related news, Apple on Tuesday released the fifth beta of its upcoming visionOS 1.2 operating system to developers. The upcoming Vision Pro operating system Apple may make further improvements to Personas, EyeSight, and other features, but nothing has been discovered or announced as yet.