As new technology gives rise to an increasingly interactive world, how can high-end productions harness some of these new platforms to deepen the cinematic experience? Working with Netflix on the promotion of ‘The Gray Man,’ it was instantly obvious that they’d created a seriously high-octane world that would have audiences on the edge of their seats as they followed the adventures of renegade agent Sierra Six.

So, how on earth were we going to make it any better? By doing the one thing that hadn’t been done yet – taking this awesome world and allowing the audience to step inside it. Not as viewers, but protagonists. And that meant sending them on a special mission… into the metaverse.

First, we recreated the setting of the film’s iconic maze finale in intricate detail inside Decentraland: from the crunching sound of the gravel pathways down to the cracks on the marble statues. Then, a special Ryan Gosling video invited the audience to test their skills as agents by navigating through the maze using their digital avatars in search of an encrypted drive. On securing the drive, players gained access to a secret room where they could see their completion time and claim limited-edition wearable NFTs inspired by characters from the film.

In the future of film, directors won’t just be thinking about the roles of their actors, but the role of their fans as well.