Speaking with sources extremely close to the film’s production, we have learned that the upcoming Ghost in the Shell movie starring Scarlett Johansson will have “VR tie-in content and elements within the film.” Additionally, we have learned that Dreamworks – the studio behind the upcoming film – has been in talks with Sixense and one major hardware/software company that we were asked to keep anonymous for the time being.
For fans of the original anime series, this news shouldn’t be very surprising. Ghost in the Shell tells the story of a future where humans transport their consciousnesses into cybernetic shells through which they live vicariously – and with superhuman capabilities. Kind of like virtual reality, with a robot at the other end. The film’s plot centers around the hunt for a hacker known as the Puppet Master who has been “ghost-hacking” the shells of other people – committing crimes as them.
Speaking with officials from Dreamworks, the company is dedicating “significant resources” to VR so this one of many experiences we can expect to see from them in the coming months and years. They were one of the original content partners for the GearVR when it was announced in November and recently announced three more experiences at SVVR.
It may be a while before we get to see the Ghost in the Shell VR experience, as the movie is currently slated to debut in Spring of 2017 – but it will hopefully be well worth the wait. With all the major VR headsets poised for release by early 2016, VR will likely be up in full swing by the time the movie comes out. Given the rapidly evolving pace of the landscape, there is no telling what kind of epicness we could expect on what could even possibly be the second generation of the consumer VR hardware.
