What 3D Movies Are Not On Apple Vision Pro (And Need to Be) February 20, 2024

Apple Vision Pro, at launch, has literally reinvented the concept of a home theater experience. When the days of DVD came out, I remember needing to spend several hundred dollars to install a proper DTS-compatible surround sound amplifier and organize my room to account for all the speaker wire I would need to install. That equipment then needed to be fully replaced when Blu-Ray Disc hit the market, but thankfully my speaker wire and speakers would survive the transition. With Apple Vision Pro, I can now watch an entire theatrical release in full 3D 4K HDR with virtual surround sound in a room with no space for a television let alone an expensive speaker setup. The best part of it is Apple has made no issues with simply offering films customers have already purchased supported films on iTunes or Apple TV full 3D playback through Vision Pro with no extra purchases required.

That means recent 3D films such as Avengers: Endgame, Doctor Strange, Avatar, Super Mario Bros: The Movie and Ready Player One, can be watched right now on the Vision Pro Apple TV in a virtual experience nearly identical to its theatrical release. However, while these initial films are a great early set of offerings, that is not the extent of ALL 3D theatrical releases over the past ten years. Many beloved 3D releases, mostly from the late 2000s to early 2010’s, are not currently offered in 3D on the Apple TV service, and this needs to be investigated further. So, we thought we would put up a list of what we felt Apple needed to re-release in 3D. To start, we’re going to include some of the films from the first and second phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which include among them some of the greatest films ever made.

Avengers – No brainer on this one. The biggest film release of all time (of its time) focused on an immersive 3D experience teaming up the main characters from the previous Hollywood blockbusters to fight the battles together they could never fight alone. Nothing beats watching the Battle of New York, where the legendary avengers assembled for the first time, in full 3D glory.

Avengers: Age of Ultron – I’m a bit confused why this hasn’t gotten a 3D release whereas some of its contemporary films, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, have. The second Avengers film may have a grander scale than the first, and marked the first appearance of the Hulkbuster armor, but many considered it to this day to be a more transitional film. Still, it’s a shame we can’t see it in 3D just yet.

Captain America: The First Avenger – Captain America’s first appearance in the MCU serves as both an origin story, a war film, and a period piece. I remember watching this film in theaters (I have with ALL of the MCU films to date), and to be honest I wasn’t impressed by the film’s 3D version, but the closing credits scene was pretty impressive.

Wreck-it-Ralph/Paperman – The original Wreck-it-Ralph was a love letter to arcades in the same way that Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a love letter to the 2D cartoons of yesterday. While you can get its sequel in 3D, neither the original film, nor the attached Paperman short, are in 3D on Vision Pro.

Thor – The original Thor proved to Hollywood that a connected cinematic universe of films could not only be produced, but encourage audiences to see films they wouldn’t otherwise have been interested in. While most people have argued the series did not find its stride until its third film, the film’s lead actors are incredibly charming, and its story of a lost God seeking redemption is absolutely timeless. The opening scene alone, where Thor is brought to Earth, if rewatched in 3D, would make it worth a re-release.

Coraline – An absolute modern classic. This stop motion adaptation of a beloved children’s book has been considered by many to be the de-facto standard for modern 3D releases. In fact, this film was a major must-buy for early adopters of 3D televisions.

PIXELS – The last major Adam Sandler film to get a wide theatrical release, PIXELS was meant to be a love letter to classic arcade games, but instead was a (mostly) unfunny mess due to a horribly a miscast lead. That said, I have a soft spot for the film, and ended up seeing it in 3D for its theatrical release. No reason to hold back on the 3D release of this film.

Silent Hill Revelations – Released in 2012 alongside Konami’s previously most recent push of the Silent Hill franchise, most people felt that Silent Hill’s sequel did not live up to the original film. I actually enjoyed it. As someone who actually saw the 3D version in theaters, it is an absolute shame that this has not gotten a 3D re-release on Vision Pro. While the movie itself is arguably terrible, its atmosphere was clearly improved by the 3D effects. Seeing ash fall across your face, and the hallways distorted behind you during terrifying chases, made you feel like you were in the film.

Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor – Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary special episode sees Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor team up with two of his past incarnations as they seek to save their home planet from its fate. This well-known episode actually had a limited 3D theatrical run with exclusive preshow footage, and it’s an absolute shame that it’s not on the Vision Pro.

TRON Legacy: If you’re a gamer, you are aware of TRON. The second TRON film presented a whole new art style while still providing a story that honored the film that came before it, TRON Legacy released in 3D with specific scenes formatted for IMAX. While its original Blu-Ray release did port selected scenes using the film’s IMAX aspect ratio, neither that IMAX ratio, nor 3D support, is currently offered in the Apple TV version.

Did we miss any flicks? You’re free to include some below in the comments section. Hope you enjoyed the article, but we’re not done just yet! The Vision Pro also has an official IMAX application, and is currently offering IMAX films in its proper ratio for viewing and rental. What is missing from that application? That’s coming next time!