A poster for Disney and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: A New Hope” in shared reality at Cosm.
Cosm
The Force is strong with Cosm.
On Thursday, the immersive entertainment technology company announced a new studio partnership with The Walt Disney Company that will bring the original “Star Wars” to its domes early next year as part of a multiyear, multifilm collaboration.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cosm’s massive concave screens will drop film fans into a galaxy far, far away starting in March, just ahead of the Academy Award-winning film’s 50th anniversary in May.
“We are thrilled to add the Disney partnership,” Alexis Scalice, head of Cosm Studios, told CNBC. “We do look for those opportunities of these like anniversary and commemorative moments. We look for those opportunities to celebrate with the fans, but also find this mutually beneficial partnership between both parties.”
This will be Cosm’s sixth theatrical collaboration with Hollywood, having already partnered with Warner Bros. to bring “The Matrix,” “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “It” to its locations. The company is set to launch immersive screenings of Universal’s “Shrek” in December.
Each Cosm dome has stadium-style seating, with booths and tables set on each level. The dome’s width fills much of the viewers’ periphery, giving the sensation that they are part of the onscreen environment.
Cosm’s LA venue playing “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in shared reality.
Courtesy of Cosm
In this case, “Star Wars” will be displayed in a large rectangle in the center of the dome while the background is transformed into the iconic planets of Tatooine and Yavin IV that are featured in the film as well as the infamous Death Star. Audiences will also see elements that will make it appear like they’re traveling at lightspeed and getting trapped in an intergalactic trash compactor.
Cosm is working directly with studios Lucasfilm and Industrial Light and Magic as well as creative studio MakeMake to create the visuals and the sound mixing for the unique presentation of the film.
“We look for those moments where sound, music … listening to Darth Vader’s breath for the first time … you feel those moments differently in an 87-foot diameter dome and 12k resolution with the sound system we have,” Scalise said. “And it’s one of the things that with experiential cinema and our technology that we were so excited and honestly privileged that we can take these defining moments for fans and work closely with our partners that doesn’t really change the authenticity of it, it just enhances it in a different manner.”
The premium experience will also be paired with a themed menu. Cosm has done this with other titles, such as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” serving guests throughout the screening with house-made shepherd’s pie, pretzel wands with cheese dip and a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.
Cosm is trying to establish itself as a destination for fandom — both for sports and for film. It has a wide variety of live event offerings, which it telecasts using proprietary cameras mounted in arenas that broadcast back to the dome, as well as its expanding library of movies.
“What I love is that we really are kind of building these Cosm communities built on fandom,” Scalise said. “It’s the No. 1 foundation for our business.”
And Star Wars is a powerful fandom. The franchise remains one of the top-ranking pieces of intellectual property across film, television and retail annually, and Disney is gearing up for a massive celebration of its semicentennial including merchandise launches, theatrical re-releases, its biannual Star Wars Celebration convention and collaborations with other brands.
