Disney’s Lucasfilm announces strategic relationship with mixed reality firm Magic Leap

Lucasfilm and Magic Leap have announced a strategic alliance to create mixed reality technology together.

The partners will set up a new lab for joint research in San Francisco’s Presidio, where Lucasfilm has a big campus. The lab is a joint venture between ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s immersive entertainment division, and Magic Leap. Together, they hope to create a new medium.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement, “The future of mixed reality and immersive entertainment holds incredible promise, and we are honored to work with Magic Leap to shape that future. At Lucasfilm and ILM, innovation has always been in our DNA; through this collaboration, ILMxLAB further propels our legacy of exploration and leadership on this new platform for experiential storytelling.”

Magic Leap is developing glasses that can overlay animated images on the real world. The Florida company is shooting to make those images indistinguishable from reality. Magic Leap calls this “mixed reality.” Lucasfilm and ILMxLAB will collaborate to make storytelling content for the glasses.

“Lucasfilm has created some of the most iconic characters of our time. Ones that dare us to dream, unlock our imagination and excite us to go on a journey with them,” said Magic Leap founder, president, and CEO Rony Abovitz, in a statement. “Magic Leap is creating a whole new medium: Mixed Reality Lightfields, designed to harness the power of your imagination and take you to places you never thought possible. Collaboration between our two companies is a perfect fit, and I can’t wait to share the results with the world.”

“When we formed ILMxLAB last year, our goal was simple yet ambitious: propel storytelling into the future through new media platforms. The collaboration with Magic Leap is the ideal relationship to help us achieve that goal. With the world-class storytelling and tech talent in our joint lab, the promise of compelling Mixed Reality entertainment is one step closer,” stated Vicki Dobbs Beck, executive in charge at the ILMxLAB, in a statement.