We’re still not quite sure what to make of Jumanji’s bizarre upcoming reboot, but we’ll be happy to give the VR experience a try all the same.
Sony Pictures and Reality One this week announced a deal with VR experience studio VRX Networks to create a new experience based on the movie which stars The Rock, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. Based on the press release it sounds like this will be closer to a game than a 360 degree experience; it promises the ability to control the film’s characters and explore its jungle setting in 3D.
In the film, several high schoolers are sucked into a videogame and embody their avatars. It makes several references to classic gaming series like Tomb Raider, so this is about as close as you’ll get to seeing Lara Croft in VR for now.
Sony will be rolling the experience out to around 50 locations in the US and UK ahead of the movie’s release on December 20th. It will also be available for downlonad on PSVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
This is far from the first tie-in VR experience for a Sony Pictures release. Earlier this year the company launched a similar app to promote Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it’s also launched tie-in pieces for films like Passengers and Ghostbusters. Mind you, these pieces are usually short and pretty underwhelming, so don’t expect too much here.
VRX Networks will also be creating a tie-in experience for Sony’s Hotel Transylvania 3, which is due for release in 2018.
