New theater, technology entertainment concept coming soon to Sugar Land Town Square

A new location-based entertainment concept that combines interactive theater with emerging technologies is coming soon to Sugar Land Town Square.

Department of Wonder, a 10,000-square-foot venue that will look to stage an immersive, mixed-reality fantasy, is slated to open in early 2022 at 2180 Lone Star Dr., Sugar Land, at the former location of Z Gallerie, according to a Dec. 8 announcement.

To bring Department of Wonder to life, a team of storytellers, technologists, designers and producers with decades of experience will look to produce new forms of digital and interactive entertainment, according to the announcement. Included in that team will be Academy Award-winning director Brandon Oldenburg, Emmy Award-winning director Limbert Fabian, Kyle Clark, Taylor Williams and Rickey Crum.

“Department of Wonder is the culmination of all the things we love to create when building imaginative worlds at large scale,” Fabian said in the announcement. “And it’s a cinematic experience that casts the audience as the leading stars.”

The entertainment concept will serve as an anchor inside the 32-acre pedestrian-friendly Sugar Land Town Square, and its opening will coincide with the completion of significant streetscape improvements to Sugar Land Town Square, which is in the midst of a major set of upgrades to retail tenancy, event programming and the physical environment, according to the announcement. Lionstone Investments, Rebees and Planned Community Developers are directing the evolution.

“We are converting a very prominent retail space vacated by a struggling national retailer into a state-of-the-art entertainment experience that is equal parts revolutionary and fun,” said Matt Ragan, director of retail programming and operations for Rebees. “It’s a major move in our recasting of Sugar Land Town Square into a hub of innovation and creative commerce within the broader metroplex.”