Marvel Brings The What If...? MCU Multiverse To Virtual Reality With An Infinity Stones Caper Twist
Marvel's "What If...?" animated series on Disney+ has allowed fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see into parallel dimensions featuring alternate versions of their favorite superheroes and villains, from Black Panther to Thanos. Some of those characters, like Captain Carter, even made it into "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" before being hilariously torn apart by Scarlet Witch.
Now, Marvel Studios is teaming up with Industrial Light & Magic's ILM Immersive group to deliver a virtual reality experience that will take MCU fans into the animated world of "What If...?" in order to stop variants of the multiverse from harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones. This is the first-ever interactive Disney+ original story, and it will be available exclusively on the Apple Vision Pro as a free app for a limited time. For those curious to see more, you can watch a trailer below that shows off the gameplay, which uses both augmented reality and virtual reality to put you into the stylized "What If...?" world in the MCU.
Admittedly, the augmented reality bits in the trailer look kind of silly. It also doesn't help that the voices of The Watcher and Wong are clearly not Jeffrey Wright and Benedict Wong, respectively. But once you get through that somewhat cringeworthy introduction, you'll see that there's some potential in this narrative-driven VR gameplay scenario. Though it might be more fun to be immersed in the photorealistic version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that would be a much more expensive affair. Even so, being inserted into the stylized animated alternate universes of "What If...?" looks like a fairly enticing prospect.
Watch the trailer for Marvel's What If...? An Immersive Story VR game
Easily the coolest part of "What If...? – An Immersive Story" (at least as seen in this trailer) is being entrusted with magical abilities like Doctor Strange. Using your own hands, you'll wave and swirl them about in front of you to cast spells and defend the Infinity Stones, as well as interact with the environment and other characters. The game also teases a potential dark path where you may end up wielding the Infinity Stones yourself. If that happens, try not to let all that power go to your head, okay?
There are bound to be other multiversal surprises in this story, so it might be worth checking out if you have an Apple Vision Pro. Presumably, this will eventually make its way to other VR hardware down the road, though we don't know for sure. But Disney+ is beginning with the Apple Vision Pro.
"What If...? An Immersive Story" is directed by Dave Bushore (also an executive producer) at Marvel Studios, written by David Dong and Phil McCarty (The Learning Curve), and features music from "The Marvels" composer Laura Karpman. Marvel's Brad Winderbaum and Bryan Andrew also serve as executive producers along with Shereif M. Fattouh.
The VR game will be available for a limited time on the Apple Vision Pro starting on May 30, 2024. Here's the official synopsis of the game's story:
"In the just-released trailer for 'What If...? – An Immersive Story,' fans learn that The Watcher needs help facing dangerous variants from across the Multiverse and that they have been chosen to step in. Under the guidance of Wong, they will learn how to cast mystic spells, harness the power of the Infinity Stones, and join allies in epic battles. They will also come face-to-face with versions of fan-favorite characters like Thanos, Hela, the Collector, Red Guardian, and more as they take on the role of the hero."