Steven Spielberg Is Working On A Project That's Solely For Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is about to take off in a big way. Just recently we learned that Disney and Lucasfilm are developing new Star Wars stories, directed and written by big name filmmakers and screenwriters, for virtual reality, to connect with the upcoming films. Plus, VR showcases such as The Martian VR Experience from Ridley Scott have been getting quite the buzz and we're a bit bummed we couldn't check it out while it was at Sundance last month. Now another heavy-hitting filmmaker looks to be making the journey to VR as well.
Steven Spielberg previously signed on to be an advisor to Virtual Reality Company (VRC), and now he's reportedly working with them on a project that is solely for VR. Find out more about the Steven Spielberg VR collaboration below.
While responding to a question about taking VR filmmaking to the next level (via UploadVR), Maleficent director and VRC co-founder Robert Stromberg said that it's about "getting other filmmakers interested of course, from the independent level to getting major players involved as well... I can say here, my company – VRC – we're working with, for instance, Steven Spielberg on a project that's solely for VR."
Interestingly enough, Steven Spielberg recently officially signed on to direct an adaptation of Ready Player One, a film that revolves around a VR world called the Oasis. Is there a chance that Ready Player One could be the first VR movie to come out of Hollywood? Probably not. Ready Player One is too popular of a book, and therefore too valuable of a property, for a studio to take a risk on in the largely untested world of VR filmmaking.
However, considering that VR is integral to the story of Ready Player One, I'm willing to bet that whatever Spielberg is working on in the VR world has something to do with Ready Player One. After all, Ridley Scott experimented a bit with VR for The Martian VR Experience, and Spielberg might be looking at something innovative to do with the technology as well. How cool would it be to be able to experience a movie like Ready Player One as if you were in the movie itself? That seems like quite the big task, but that seems to be where the future of VR is heading.
With someone like Steven Spielberg taking an interest in VR, it's clear that this technology is on the verge of changing how we experience entertainment. Here's hoping we hear what Spielberg has up his sleeve for the VR world soon.