SEEN it all before? Well, this is a cinema like no other – where the characters come to life, step down from the screen, and where YOU could be the star of the show.

Atlas9, opening this year, looks like a movie theatre but is actually a $26 million immersive art museum, inside which state-of-the-art interactive tech blurs the boundaries of reality.

The premise of the 30,000 square-feet Kansas City attraction is a struggling movie theatre looking to draw in customers by using new holographic projection technology.

Owners aim to provide moviegoers with a fully immersive and interactive viewing experience – but during its first demonstration, the system overloads and causes a power surge.

As a result of the power peak, characters and settings from the movies emerge into the real world….

When it opens, it will be be a non-linear experience, meaning visitors can visit all of the rooms and discover the story and the many secrets hidden in the heart of the mystery at their leisure.

They’ll be able to call in at the 240-seat cinema first, then go through the manager’s office or walk straight into a movie ‘set’ and take a look inside the movie’s plot.

Using radio frequency identification wristbands, guests will be able to scan kiosks sited around the attraction and see themselves placed inside movie posters as the stars of the show.

The Atlas9 team drew inspiration from other interactive art exhibits around the world, including The Rabbit hOle in Kansas City, City Museum in St. Louis and teamLab in Tokyo.

Keep track of updates on the project at the official, wonderfully retro-rendered, Atlas9 website. For Kansas City tourist advice, and other attractions, see the official tourism site.

Read more: Inside the real-life Matrix at teamLab Tokyo

Read more: Mind-blowing magic at teamLab’s Osaka show