From 5G to smartphones to digital health applications, Nokia (News - Alert) is leading the way in next generation communications. Yesterday, the company announced that it is taking on yet another form of tech: virtual reality (VR). On the surface, the idea of a powerhouse like Nokia delving deeper into VR is already an exciting prospect. However, Nokia is taking the VR experience out of this world by partnering with Lucasfilm to deliver an immersive behind-the-scenes VR experience for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
For any Star Wars fan, this unlocks a world of possibility that, quite frankly, is a dream come true. The multi-year agreement between Nokia and The Walt Disney (News - Alert) Studios is designed to support the creation of VR experiences to complement Disney’s theatrical releases—so it sounds like we’re going to be seeing a lot more of these experiences in the future.
Now that the two companies have teamed up, Nokia will be providing its OZO VR camera and software solutions to give Disney marketers and filmmakers the tools they need to create an immersive, transformative VR experience full of lightsabers and droids.
“We're thrilled to partner with Lucasfilm and Disney to bring the magic of immersive VR storytelling to one of the most exciting and anticipated movie experiences of all time,” said Brad Rodrigues, interim president of Nokia Technologies. “OZO will enable Star Wars fans around the world to be transported into the incredible worlds depicted in the story, and truly feel the power of The Force together.”
This isn’t the first time Disney has used VR to promote its movies—Pete’s Dragon, Alice Through the Looking Glass and The Jungle Book all had similar experiences. However, none of those movies were as highly anticipated as Star Wars, which means that this VR experience may actually find promotional success.
Brian Miller, Senior Vice President, Franchise Creative & Strategy at Lucasfilm, discussed the motivation behind this partnership, saying, “We want nothing more than to share the Star Wars universe with fans around the world, and fans tell us they love to have the opportunity to learn more about the process of filmmaking…Utilizing the Nokia OZO to capture our behind-the-scenes material allows viewers to be transported to fantastical locations and virtually visit the incredible sets where their favorite Star Wars scenes were captured.”
It looks like fans will finally be able to visit their favorite galaxy far, far away.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
