Ahead of the release of Eternals on November 5, Marvel is ramping up fan excitement by allowing audiences to experience the world of the MCU’s newest heroes for themselves. The studio has announced a first-of-its-kind augmented reality experience, an immersive mobile app that will allow audiences around the world to quite literally step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, getting a peek at what they’re in for before they step into theaters in November.
The new AR app, called Eternals: AR Story Experience, allows users with an iPhone or iPad to explore the in-world timeline of the Eternals, discovering how the heroes from beyond the stars helped shape human civilization over the course of seven thousand years. Audiences will be able to travel back in time with Sprite (Lia McHugh) to learn how the Eternals have influenced human culture, witness their phenomenal cosmic powers, and learn a few secrets along the way.
To create the technology and cinematic expertise used to bring the Eternals to life in virtual reality, Marvel Studios team up with XR experts from the Technology Innovation Group at Disney Studios Content, and brought in the creative minds behind Eternals itself, including VFX supervisors Stephane Ceretti and Mårten Larsson, McHugh, composer Ramin Djawadi, scriptwriter Patrick Burleigh, and Industrial Light & Magic, the company responsible for bringing franchises like Star Wars to life. All-new processes were developed to deliver state-of-the-art storytelling, including volumetric capture to create a 3D version of Sprite used to guide audiences through the experiences, and new ways of displaying film-caliber visual effects on mobile devices in real-time.
“We’re telling a true Marvel Studios story in a way that fans have never seen before,” says Dave Bushore, VP of Franchise Creative & Marketing for Marvel Studios. “We're very excited to be at the forefront of this groundbreaking form of storytelling, and we're already developing more of these types of immersive experiences that deepen the fans’ connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
Eternals also stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, who co-wrote the screenplay with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo. Ahead of the film’s release on November 5, fans can download the iOS-exclusive Eternals: AR Story Experience, available in 13 languages, on the App Store.