The BBC announced in February that work was underway on a new virtual reality (VR) project involving one of the broadcaster’s most popular series, Doctor Who. Today, the first trailer has now arrived for Doctor Who: The Runaway.
The incredibly popular long-running series – it began in 1963! – is getting an animated, interactive story from the Doctor Who team, allowing fans to step inside the TARDIS with the Doctor.
And not only do you get to see the first video footage, the BBC has released the first story synopsis for the upcoming animated short: “You’ve been in a collision. You wake inside the TARDIS. The Doctor introduces you to the person, or thing, you collided with. He’s a strange and magnificent ball of living energy called Volta. Part surly teenager, part bomb, Volta is very unstable. In fact, he’s primed to explode. Big time. Unless he can be returned to his home planet, sharpish. The problem is, a squad of galactic busybodies has other plans for Volta. Bad ones. Drawn into a frantic chase, you become the Doctor’s unlikely assistant as she races against time to get Volta home to his parents. Armed with a sonic screwdriver, it is down to you to help the Doctor as she faces the forces of evil, and teenage angst, in this animated 13-minute VR adventure from the team behind Doctor Who Series 11.”
Developed by the BBC’s digital drama team, BBC VR Hub and Passion Animation Studios, Doctor Who: The Runaway features 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker. While the BBC has stated the experience will be interactive it hasn’t specified how it’ll work or to what level.
Doctor Who: The Runaway has been written by Victoria Asare-Archer and directed by Mathias Chelebourg (Alice, the Virtual Reality Play and The Real Thing VR) and features new original music from series composer Segun Akinola. The film will premiere during the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The festival runs between 24th April – 5th May, with Tribeca Immersive taking place from 26th April to 4th May 2019. It’ll also come to UK audiences in the near future. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.