‘Lawnmower Man’ VR Series Announced at Sundance

Cinematic virtual reality company Jaunt used the Sundance Film Festival to announce five new original, episodic virtual reality series slated for 2017, including VR treatment of The Lawnmower Man, based off the 1992 cult classic sci-fi film of the same name.

“As we continue to develop more immersive, cinematic VR content with high production values and longer run-times, it solidifies for us that VR is fast-becoming a mainstream staple within the entertainment industry,” said George Kliavkoff, president and CEO of Jaunt, in a statement. “2016 was the final year of experimentation and every indication is that 2017 will be the year of action and adoption. We’re excited to be in development on all five of these series alongside some of today’s top talent.”

Also on tap are the action-thriller series Luna, a 12-episode story about an abandoned lunar base; The Enlightened Ones, a political sci-fi series about a device that makes humans immortal; Bad Trip, a six-episode comedy that gives VR viewers an idea of what different drug experiences look like; and Miss Gloria, a futuristic sci-fi series that makes the viewer a robot looking for a missing girl.

“The original movie was a film of unsurpassed imagination and creativity with its ground-breaking use of VR back in 1992,” said Jim Howell, who owns the rights to Lawnmower Man. “Together with Jaunt we look forward to a contemporary team bringing to life a whole new world of VR; a world of immersive entertainment and communication. We are very excited to be working with Jaunt to create a VR realization of the film.”

Author Daniel Wilson (“Robopocalypse,” “How to Survive a Robot Uprising”), who is the creator of Miss Gloria, added: “I wrote Miss Gloria from the ground up to take advantage of the unique strengths of storytelling in VR. It’s a deeply emotional exploration into how we internalize the voices of our teachers and mentors, and how we continue to carry those people with us forever. My first career was as a roboticist, so I’m incredibly excited to combine art and science by crafting thrilling sci-fi for a cutting edge technological medium.”

Jaunt’s large slate of original VR series comes after the company successfully launched the 2016 scripted VR supernatural drama series Invisible