Baobab Studios announced some massive additions to a now star-studded, all-female cast for their next VR project, Baba Yaga.
Kate Winslet, Jennifer Hudson, and Glenn Close will join Daisy Ridley in the upcoming immersive VR movie set to premiere next month at the 2020 Venice International Film Festival. Hudson is also an executive producer on the film.
These three new additions make Baba Yaga one of Baobab’s most high-profile projects yet. Other Hollywood celebrities have appeared in the studio’s work in the past, such as Ali Wong in Bonfire, but to see four major actresses all appear in an immersive VR film together is pretty unprecedented, especially with Hudson in the producer role as well.
Daisy Ridley will play the viewer’s sister, Magda. When their mother, the Chief (played by Close) falls deathly ill, the two of them will have to work together and enter the forbidden forest (played by Hudson) to seek a cure from Baba Yaga (played by Winslet).
“Baba Yaga is a beautiful work of animation and I was honored to be an executive producer alongside my talented collaborators at Baobab Studios,” said Hudson in a prepared statement. “While the story is rooted in classic folklore, we were inspired to bring it into modern light by focusing on environmental themes and strong female characters, themes the world needs to explore now more than ever. It was my pleasure to be part of the strong female cast alongside Daisy, Kate, and Glenn.”
The immersive VR animation was created during the pandemic, a feat which the film’s director and Baobab co-founder Eric Darnell called “especially challenging”. While the film is set to debut at the Venice Film Festival in a matter of weeks, it will also be available exclusively on Oculus Quest later this year.
