We’re a week away from the release of the release of Guardians 3, which has been getting an emotional response during early screenings. The movie will mark the end of the Marvel superhero team, at least as we know them, but if you’re a big Guardians fan, the good news is that they will be available for years to come in a pair of theme park attractions at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. Chris Pratt and the team will always be there. And for some lucky fans, Chris Pratt was even more there thanks to Jimmy Kimmel.
Chris Pratt recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as part of promoting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. As part of the appearance Pratt used the unique Proto hologram technology to place himself in the exit queue of Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout. He then pretended to be an AI construct of himself as he interacted with riders. Check it out.
It’s pretty hilarious to watch these people interact with what they’re told is an AI hologram. They ask it fairly simple questions for the most part and Pratt rolls it with, mostly just trying to be funny. And he does so by answering everything in what’s supposed to sound like a computer-generated voice. It appears to pretty much fool everybody, though it's hard to be sure. To be sure, if this was an AI-generated hologram of Chris Pratt, it likely wouldn’t look too different.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen celebrities find their way inside Disneyland Resort to interact with guests. Johnny Depp once famously hung out inside Pirates of the Caribbean in full Jack Sparrow garb. Another time, Disney pulled a move similar to this one, where Depp’s Mad Hatter appeared to be on a movie poster, but it was actually him speaking with guests.
Usually when people see Chris Pratt at Disney California Adventure it’s as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout attraction. But there Star-Lord is only seen on screens, and as cool as the ride is, it’s clear that you’re just looking at a flat screen, and not actually looking inside the Collector’s base. It makes one wonder if this sort of hologram tech could be used in theme park attractions. If guests were looking at this while on Mission: Breakout the level of immersion would be off the charts.
Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland, which is significantly newer than the Guardians of the Galaxy ride, does use some simple hologram technology to create a message from Daisy Ridley’s Rey. We have also seen a hologram of Walt Disney as part of a special Disney exhibition currently in Philadelphia. It seems all but certain that as this technology continues to improve we’ll start to see it more in attractions at Disney Parks.
