Netflix Builds ‘Gray Man’ Metaverse Experience in Decentraland

Streaming giant Netflix has touched down in the Decentraland metaverse. 

The purpose is two-fold: promote its new action movie “The Gray Man,” featuring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, and explore new interactive ways that a brand can connect with fans virtually.

The film is a spy thriller, and Netflix’s 45-parcel Decentraland activation is aptly considered a “Metaverse Mission.” Decentraland recreated a landscape from the movie — a labyrinth that users must navigate by proving their knowledge about the movie’s plot along the way.

Blockworks demoed the experience, alongside Martin Shibuya, the art director at Decentraland Foundation and Diego Alvarez, the senior business developer at The Electric Factory, the programmers and architects behind the game. 

Upon entering the maze, users hear the film’s original music and protagonist Ryan Gosling’s instruction video.

In partnership with Netflix Latin America, Decentraland said the best way to access the metaverse was by replicating an actual scene from the movie. This not only attracts those who had already seen the movie, but also “boosts the users that happen to be in Decentraland playing in the maze and gets them to watch the film,” Shibuya said.

The month-long experiment is a way for big brands to enter the metaverse by renting out virtual land for a short, specific project, as opposed to purchasing it. According to Alvarez, the companies doing this today “are going to have a huge advantage tomorrow if they understand how this works and how people can interact” in the metaverse.

He added tha the metaverse is “about having fun, about getting in touch with other people here. And that’s why we have this stimulus [trivia game] that makes you feel like you are always doing something.”

In its first week live, Decentraland says it saw 2,000 users go through the maze. Once users reach the fountain at the center and unlock a secret room, they can connect their crypto wallets to record their completion time. The fastest time logged at the time of the demo was thirteen seconds.  

Users can also select rewards like a free wearable for their avatar, added immediately to their wallets. The choices include the signature looks of the three main agents; Sierra Six’s jacket, Lloyd’s mustache and polo shirt, and Miranda’s blazer and bob. 

Brands and companies are still finding the best way to leverage blockchain technology to interact with their customers, Alvarez said. “There is so much opportunity that Web3 offers the world of entertainment, especially when it comes to immersive storytelling and audience engagement.”

“There is a lot of room for improvement” when it comes to onboarding more users into the metaverse, added Shibuya, who thinks it’s important for virtual worlds to become protocols that are open to everyone where the ownership of digital assets is standard. 

Decentraland is also home to major brands such as Samsung, Nike and Coca-Cola. The platform also recently hosted the Metaverse Fashion Week where luxury fashion houses including Dolce & Gabbana hosted catwalks to showcase their latest wearables.

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