Update: You can now download the Power Rangers VR app on iTunes and Google Play. Gear VR app is still coming soon.
“Power Rangers: Zords Rising” will be available for download March 8 from the Apple App Store, GooglePlay and Gear VR.
Your favorite teenage superheroes and their giant robot Zords are back—this time in VR. Before Power Rangers the movie hits theaters on March 24th, you’ll get a chance to gear up and experience what it’s like to be part of the Power Ranger team.
Coming to a mobile headset like Gear VR or Google Play on March 8th, the “Power Rangers: Zords Rising” is a 2-minute mobile VR experience created in partnership with Qualcomm Technologies, Lionsgate and Reel FX.
Originally making its debut at CES to showcase Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, you’ll now be able to demo it yourself and get an immersive look at the larger-than-life Zord vehicles used by the Power Rangers. You’ll get to explore the Ranger’s base from the film and even see giant hologram versions of the Rangers themselves that you can select your favorite to join them in the cockpit for some Zord-piloting action.
VR adaptations for movie releases are continuing to grow in frequency, especially as Hollywood’s biggest studios turn bullish on VR. And if anyone is leading the VR charge from the studio side, it’s Lionsgate, who has made a strategic decision to integrate VR projects into the marketing plan process for movie releases. Granted the movie does need to be a strategic fit for the technology, but Lionsgate has already released VR experiences for films like Insurgent, Hunger Games, John Wick, NERVE, and now Power Rangers.
The hope is that studios taking the risk right now like Lionsgate or Sony Pictures, who also happens to sell the PlayStation VR, will set an example on what is possible when releasing any new film.
As it stands, a VR-related adaptation may be a nice to have for studios. But eventually, just like having a trailer for social media or an influencer marketing strategy has become mandatory when releasing a movie, so will a VR content plan.
Can’t wait.
