Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive’s What If…? – An Immersive Story isn’t Disney’s first foray into augmented reality storytelling, but it is their first to be exclusive to Apple Vision Pro. As an early adopter of this headset, I’ve primarily used it for media consumption, as it makes it easy to create a distraction-free environment and also replicates the big screen experience with 4K video, Dolby Atmos sound, and a selection of films in 3D (Disney+ remains the lone streamer to offer films in that format). But other than that, I can’t say that I’ve found much use for the device’s AR experience, which is why testing out this new What If…? “episode” was so fun.
While What If…? – An Immersive Story is branded as part of Disney+, it’s actually its own separate app. It starts like every Marvel Studios project, with the familiar journey through the liminal spaces of the Marvel logo, with flipping action shots of heroic characters. But as it pans out, you realize that it’s in your room, which is where this journey begins. For you are now the Hero of the Multiverse.
The single recurring character from What If…?, The Watcher (voiced here by Amuche Chukudebelu), enters your environment in need of your help. The Infinity Stones from various timelines need to be collected in order to stop a destructive event that could destroy all timelines as we know them. And he’s sent someone to assist you, the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Wong (voiced by Daisuke Tsuji). Wong introduces the interactive, videogame-esque role you play, using a hand (you get to select right or left, but at times, both are required) to mimic gestures that trigger actions, including collecting Infinity Stones, blocking attacks, firing blasts at opponents, and using the Mystic Arts to create portals or banish entities.
Destinations include New York (Timeline: 724), Titan (Timeline: 351), Siberia 1987 (Timeline: 326), Knowhere (Timeline: 657), and the Sacred Timeline. New York is essentially a training space with Wong, while Titan, Siberia 1987, and Knowhere feel like their own isolated mini-episodes of What If…?, which converge in the final location, the Sacred Timeline. These scenes are primarily a 360-degree experience, meaning you can look in all directions to experience a borderless environment as the story plays out within it. And one of the features I was most impressed with was the way the audio sources remained fixed. For example, turning your head to the left, away from a character, makes it so their voice is only heard in your left ear while facing them directly puts their dialogue in both ears.
Each location has its own Infinity Stone to collect during the sequence, and each also requires some form of action on your part. However, this isn’t a true video game. If you fail to complete a task, eventually, the experience simply forces it for you, which is not unlike other VR story experiences I’ve tried before.
While the immersive sequences are inherently 3D, a number of flashback moments or end-of-story wrap-ups occur within a defined frame. These moments are also in 3D, and if you step to the left or right of the frame, the parallax feels like looking through a window.
In terms of storytelling, What If…? – An Immersive Story surpassed my expectations. I thought this would pull together moments from the show’s second season, but each mini-story is original to this experience. For example, this version of Steve Rogers (voiced by Jamie Costa) is crossed with Red Skull in a timeline that makes it possible for him to fight alongside the Winter Soldier and Red Guardian (voiced by David Lodge). Hela (voiced by Analise Scarpaci) is a teenager on a quest to save her banished pet, Fenris, who has ended up in the hands of Taneleer Tivan, aka The Collector (voiced by Stephen Alcalá). Thanos’ quest to save his homeworld Titan also introduces a different take on Star Fox (voiced by Will Champion), which differs from his appearance in the mid-credit tag from Eternals.
SPOILER WARNING: If you plan to experience What If…? – An Immersive Story for yourself, you may want to stop reading now, as I’m about to venture into spoiler territory.
As mentioned, these three storylines converge in the Sacred Timeline. The reason is that Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch (voiced by Stephanie Kerbis), has been manipulating reality again. This brings Vision (also voiced by Will Champion) into the story in a moment that forces you and this rag-tag group of Multiverse outcasts to team up.
It should be noted that, like the What If…? series in general, the ramifications of What If…? – An Immersive Story are self-contained. This isn’t the main timeline’s Wanda, and she is visually differentiated from Elizabeth Olsen’s portrayal with a costume that has yet to be seen elsewhere in the MCU (it appears to be inspired by the Wanda Zatara costume from the comics).
While the majority of the experience offers just one path forward, there is a choose-your-own-adventure ending. The Watcher presents you with the option to hold onto the Infinity Stones or destroy them, both actions completed by looking at your choice and snapping your fingers. Each option plays a different ending for the three mini-episodes you just played through (Wanda’s storyline is wrapped up before this moment).
Choosing to keep the Infinity Stones is essentially the wrong choice, but in my opinion, the most fun. It returns you to Earth but with a warning from Miss Minutes (voiced by Shelby Young) and the TVA (including a brief teaser for Deadpool & Wolverine on the TVA monitor).
Once the experience is completed, you can access a chapter selection to return to any moment, including the split decision. Choosing to destroy the Infinity Stones is the virtuous path, which comes with a congratulations message from Captain Carter (voiced by Helen Sadler), who tosses her shield to you to wield.
What If…? – An Immersive Story was far better than I expected. Announced earlier this month, I expected it to be a last-minute effort to give Disney+ subscribers who were sold on the promise of unique content on Apple Vision Pro something to do, but it’s clear that Marvel Studios’ usual level of artistic care was taken with this experience. And given that ILM Immersive was involved, I’m holding out hope that their previous VR experiences (Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge and Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series) will be reworked for Apple Vision Pro, in addition to new experiences across various VR platforms.