The New York Times reports that Jon Favreau is developing “video content” for Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset, expected to launch next year.
The content will be related to the recent Apple TV+ show Prehistoric Planet, which debuted on the streaming service last month with Favreau as showrunner and David Attenborough as the narrator.
The report contains few other details on the nature of the Prehistoric Planet content for Apple’s headset, except that Favreau is “working to bring that show’s dinosaurs to life on the headset.” That being said, some kind of 3D immersive experience seems likely.
Favreau is an acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker, director and actor. His directing credits include Elf (2003), Iron Man (2008), Chef (2014) and The Jungle Book (2016), as well as most recently working on popular Star Wars series The Mandalorian for Disney+. He also been heavily involved in various capacities with Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
However, Favreau is no stranger to virtual reality either. In 2016, he worked on a VR narrative experience called Gnomes & Goblins for the HTC Vive. Even more recently, he’s been using VR headsets to visualize shots on the sets of movies like the 2019 remake of The Lion King.
“[We] created this multiplayer VR filmmaking game where all the crew put on headsets and they were able to walk around and look around the Pride Lands and watch the animated performances and set cameras inside VR,” he told Jimmy Kimmel in 2019. “So it felt like we were making a live action film inside virtual reality.”
Speaking to UploadVR in 2016 about Gnomes & Goblins, Favreau said he wasn’t sure if he could see himself spending the majority of his time as a director working in an immersive medium. Nonetheless, it’s clear virtual and mixed reality has kept his interest since then.
According to industry analysts and publications, Apple’s mixed reality headset is set to be revealed either this year or early next, for a release in 2023.
