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Marvel Executive Dave Bushore Exits After 15 Years

Bushore directed and executive produced What If…? An Immersive Story.
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Longtime Marvel executive Dave Bushore has exited the company after 15 years. According to The Hollywood Reporter Bushore, who most recently served as vice president, franchise creative and immersive development for Marvel, is departing the company but not taking up a role with a new company. Per the report, Bushore is instead looking to “take his experience in the intersection of technology and new ways audiences participate in their favorite brands.”

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“I am going to mis the people, the characters, and the ideas that get thrown around in the hallways,” Bushore said. “There’s no place like Marvel Studios for that, it’s infectious. But I’m ready to bring that energy and big ideas to some new kinds of stories in town.”

Bushore first joined Marvel in 2009 and worked as a coordinator for Brad Winderbaum. Over the years, he went on to work in home entertainment, television specials, parks development and the franchise team dealing with special projects outside of theatrical production. Most recently, Bushore directed and executive produced What if…? — An Immersive Story, a partnership between Marvel and ILM for Apple Vision Pro. It recently won a Creative Arts Emmy for outstanding innovation in emerging media. It was also exhibited at the Venice International Film Festival, marking Marvel’s first trip there, an experience that Bushore called “mind-blowing.”

“Being invited to Venice was mind-blowing,” Bushore said. “Being there and seeing the embracing of this new type of content, and the people coming through doing the experience, filmmakers and ambassadors, that was a really cool thing.”

Here’s how Marvel describes What If…? An Immersive Story: What If…? reimagines events from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in unexpected ways. Utilizing the revolutionary spatial computer capabilities of Apple Vision Pro, What If…? – An Immersive Story will deliver a technologically advanced and engaging experience to fans that completely transforms the space around them. As they step into breathtaking environments, they will cross between mixed and virtual reality as they enter new and iconic MCU locations. Fans will use their hands and eyes to interact with the world around them, becoming immersed with stunning visuals and spatial audio, and work to save the fate of reality as they live out their narrative journey. Together, these groundbreaking features and more will remind them that time, space, and reality are more than a linear path. 

What If…? – An Immersive Story is directed by Dave Bushore at Marvel Studios and produced by Shereif M. Fattouh at ILM Immersive. The experience is written by David Dong and Phil McCarty (The Learning Curve), with music by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning composer Laura Karpman (American FictionThe Marvels). What If…? – An Immersive Story is executive produced by Bushore, Fattouh, and Brad Winderbaum (What If…?X-Men ’97), with Bryan Andrews (What If…?Primal) serving as consulting producer. Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP of immersive content at Lucasfilm and ILM Immersive, Mark S. Miller, VP of creative development and production at ILM Immersive, and Jamie Voris, EVP/Chief Technology Officer at The Walt Disney Studios, all serve as executive producers.