Four-time Oscar-winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has an intriguing new side project: a short film shot in virtual reality about immigration between Mexico and the US. The director of Best Picture nominee The Revenant — a grim, frontier Western starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and a bear — will be working on the short with frequent collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki, the winner of three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography.

Details about the project are scarce, but according to Variety it will "explore the intense and excruciating experience of a group of immigrants and refugees crossing the border between Mexico and the United States." The film is being produced and financed by Legendary Entertainment, with Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB division (creators of the Star Wars virtual reality projects) providing technical expertise. All in all, it's exciting news, especially when you consider how The Revenant was able to immerse viewers in a bitter struggle for survival in 19th century America. Translating his talents to VR will likely be tricky for Inarritu, but we hope it will be well worth it.