‘Telefonica’s Movistar +, the biggest drive into original series production by any telecom in Europe, hinted at some of its gameplay to attract millennials at a MipTV presentation Tuesday of “Virtual Hero,” an anime series adapting the same-named 2015-17 comic book saga of El Rubius, Spain’s most popular YouTuber.
From an original idea by Ruben Doblas – El Rubius – produced by Movistar +’s Domingo Corral and Pilar Blasco, directed by Alexis Barroso and written by Barroso and El Torres, “Virtual Hero” pictures the fantasy action adventures of El Rubies navigating through game worlds to save the 100 best gamers trapped in a vital world by dastardly villain Trollmask.
Displayed via a trailer at the presentation, El Rubius’ motley support includes say warrior Sakura, zombie girl Zombirella, who carries a candle for the hero, Slimmer, a gentlemanly, faceless spirit, and A.I. aide G4tO.
Speaking on stage at MipTV, El Rubius described the series as like a “parody” of Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” meeting “Guardians of there Galaxy.” “It has the mad VR part of the VR headsets of ‘Ready’ and the friendship of ‘Guardians,’ he added.
Produced with Zeppelin TV and the Planeta Group, “Virtual Hero” is also Movistar +’s calling card for a millennial generation in Spain, Latin America and beyond: Ismael Calleja, Movistar + head production and business affairs, revealed that, with regard to international sales, Movistar + is “discussing different options,” and “close to finalizing.”
El Rubius’ humungous social media stats were flashed up on the screen at the beginnings of the presentation: the most-retweeted tweet of 2016; 28 million subscribers for his YouTube channel. The presentation began with a clop of El Rubius bounding onto stage in Colombia before a 30,000 crowd.
One is volume: Movistar + aims to premiere 12 Movistar Original Series a year. Released in two parts, at the beginning of summer and around fall, as a youth-targeting show “Virtual Hero” is unlikely to be a one-off as Movistar + aims at not so much attracting millions of viewers ti any one show but millions of subscribers to its service. That calls for its service to prove attractive to different segments of families around the year.’
Via Variety
The Book to Screen Club 