More than a half century after their 1973 formation in New York City, KISS is showing no signs of fading quietly into retirement. The OG shock rockers reunited this weekend for the Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas event, playing together for the first time in two years. And during the event’s “Future of Kiss” panel, manager Doc McGhee gave fans a glimpse at what’s to come.
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“Can You Make Us Immortal?”
McGhee joined Johan Lagerlöf of Pophouse Entertainment, the company who bought the band’s catalog and image rights for a reported $300 million in 2024. Pophouse has already transformed ABBA into live avatars, and now the Swedish company is looking to do the same with KISS.
Before finalizing the deal, the members of KISS had one question for Lagerlöf: “Can you make us immortal?”
Immortality is seemingly the goal here, with McGhee discussing a three-part plan to keep Kiss rocking well into the future. The first phase is the live avatar show, originally set to premiere in 2027.
When KISS announced the news in late 2023, some fans weren’t terribly thrilled at the prospect of virtual avatars replacing their favorite band at live shows. However, rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley has promised a mind-blowing experience.
“KISS fans will love it – but other people who could care less about KISS will want to see it… it will really cross that bridge of what’s real and what’s not, and combine the two,” he said during a June 2024 appearance on the Allison Hagendorf Show.
Thierry Coup, the virtual show’s creative director, said during the session that he and his team are currently “in the middle of developing the real avatars, which will take about two years.”
Bringing KISS to the Big Screen
With their touring days apparently behind them, KISS hopes to supplement their legacy with two films—a biopic, and a documentary centered on the band’s five-year-long End of the Road world tour. Director McG said during the panel that the biopic is still trying to find its actors.
The documentary has seemingly made more progress, debuting its trailer before the panel audience. “”You’ll see a whole different side of Kiss,” promised McGhee.
Summing up the vision, biopic director McG said, “More than any other band in the history of rock and roll, there is rock and roll before Kiss and then there is rock and roll after Kiss.”
Featured image by Axel Heimken/picture alliance via Getty Images
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