MUS immersive spun out of Toro Science to commercialize a proprietary spatial computing platform and open a network of headset-free immersive screening venues
The entertainment company MUS immersive | Modern Uprising Studios has emerged as an independent enterprise after separating from the venture studio Toro Science. The new firm is billing itself as a pioneer in a fresh category it calls immersive event cinema, with the explicit aim of delivering shared, headset-free experiences that blend live and digital storytelling. Built on technology that anchors 3D digital content to physical environments, the venture intends to move spatial computing from specialized use cases into mainstream theatrical exhibition.
According to company communications, the effort grew inside Toro Science before becoming its own operation. At the center of MUS immersive’s proposition is the Celeste Immersive Engine, a proprietary spatial computing platform that the team says has been validated in rigorous operational contexts such as defense training and simulation work. The company highlights that this real-world testing underpins a claim of military-grade robustness while emphasizing entertainment use rather than classified applications.
The Celeste platform is designed to convert traditional film and video into what MUS describes as full field-of-view, headset-free environments. Rather than delivering content to individual headsets, the system projects or renders 3D elements that coexist with a physical venue so audiences can inhabit a shared, enveloping narrative space. MUS plans to roll out this capability through a curated network of venues and content deals, aiming to redefine how films, sports spectacles and branded experiences are produced and exhibited.
MUS immersive says it will open its flagship Celeste Immersive Screening Lounge in New York in 2026, with a broader network of locations coming online in 2027. The company intends to pair venue growth with an exclusive library of immersive media rights spanning film, sports entertainment, sponsor activations and hybrid premium content. This combination of platform, places and content underpins MUS’s strategy to create repeatable, monetizable experiences that extend traditional exhibition revenue streams.
MUS positions itself as a collaborator for rights holders looking to extend the life and value of existing intellectual property. By offering immersive adaptations and special editions, the company hopes to broaden audience reach and open new monetization avenues for studios, sports leagues and brands. The model emphasizes experiential windows that sit alongside conventional theatrical releases rather than replacing them, promising new ways for properties to engage fans within purpose-built environments.
The venture is led by co-founder and chief executive Joel Roodman, a former Miramax Films senior vice president for international marketing and sales who played a role in bringing titles such as Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting and Shakespeare in Love to global audiences. Roodman frames the company’s mission as an effort to realize the full promise of the theatrical immersive window, encouraging creators to think beyond traditional formats and to become “world builders” who craft lasting, returnable story universes.
MUS immersive’s rise coincided with an online controversy involving an AI short film festival prize that briefly drew national attention. Frame Forward, an AI Animated Film Festival, selected Igor Alferov’s short Thanksgiving Day as its winner, and an initial plan to screen the film ahead of features at AMC Theatres was later halted after public backlash. MUS has responded by noting that the truncated theatrical run was only part of the prize and that the winning film will be adapted for the Celeste-powered venues the company is building.
Company statements emphasize the cultural role of shared theatrical experiences while acknowledging that major chains may be cautious about new formats and AI-generated works. MUS argues that the media landscape is evolving rapidly and that new artistic forms and screening spaces must continue to develop. The firm says it will bring both fresh and existing content to its venue network, beginning in New York, and that it intends to preserve and expand the theatrical window rather than let it erode.
Toro Science’s founder and CEO, Joe Nolan, has described MUS immersive as an example of the studio’s approach to spinning out companies ready for commercialization. With leadership experienced in international film distribution and a platform that blends entertainment-grade production with operationally tested technologies, MUS aims to be a first mover in bringing spatial computing into commercial exhibition. The coming months and the opening of the New York lounge will be an early test of whether audiences and rights holders embrace a new, collective mode of cinematic storytelling.