Transformers director Michael Bay has partnered with production studio the Rogue Initiative for his first foray into the growing field of VR content. His billing as a “strategic advisor” may or may not be Hollywood code for “make sure the explosions are ludicrously huge”.
All images: concept art by the Rogue Initiative
“The new collaboration will produce immersive, virtual adventures offering gritty, danger-close action coupled with Michael Bay’s signature style and storytelling that fans all over the world have come to expect from his blockbuster action films,” the Rogue Initiative announced in a statement. And it sounds like Bay will have lots of avenues for his ideas, since the company plans to develop “cinematic, interactive VR, and television projects” for just about every platform out there: “Sony Playstation, Oculus, HTC Vive, Samsung GearVR, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, feature film, network and cable television.”
When the Rogue Initiative launched in February, CEO Pete Blumel (formerly of Activision and Dreamworks) said its aim was “to create a studio where the most successful storytellers and filmmakers from Hollywood collaborate side-by-side to create and develop new worlds and interactive experiences with the best and brightest from the video game and tech industries.” The concept art provided by the company suggests, unsurprisingly, that science fiction will factor heavily into these plans.
So far, there’s no word on any specific projects that Bay will be involved in, though given Bay’s filmography, it’s safe to assume he won’t be breaking any new ground in terms of his signature style. The innovations will come, of course, on the technology front — which is either exciting or absolutely terrifying, considering how much insanely bombastic visual stimulation is already contained in his films.
