The Dio hologram toured the world in 2017 and in 2019. For those unaware, the Dio hologram was literally a hologram of Ronnie James Dio on the stage "performing" alongside a real actual band and a handful of additional vocalists. The hologram was put on hold in 2021 after Dio's wife Wendy Dio said "I just think that the fans would prefer to see Ronnie as being really Ronnie instead of a hologram."
Now in an interview with The Rockman Power Hour, Wendy Dio said she'd like to take Ronnie James Dio back on the road with more a film-based approach that celebrates his entire career. She also acknowledges that the hologram was a little divisive among fans, though she believes the film approach might be better received.
"It was an experiment that we did. It was 50/50 — some people hated it; some people loved it. It was something we did. I don't wanna do it again. This time now I'm gonna do real Ronnie. I've got all this video footage from Rainbow and some [Black] Sabbath and Dio and even some Elf stuff, and I wanna put that together with a live band and take that out. 'Cause I think that'll be something that kids will really wanna see — stuff that they've never seen before as well."
In a previous interview, Wendy Dio detailed the problems with the hologram. Mostly that it was expensive as hell to take out on the road, partially because you couldn't do the show in some venues. She also noted that the time that there would be a tour this March, which obviously never materialized.
"The problem with the hologram, and it's great — and I won't say never again — but it costs so much money, you can only go into certain venues because of the height of it and the size of it. It's too expensive to travel, so therefore we couldn't come to Brazil, couldn't come to South America, couldn't go to Japan, couldn't go to Europe with it. So it limits you so much.
"So we are going out next year in March — the Dio band will go out again — but this time I found an ISO film, a 17-camera shoot, there's an ISO one of Ronnie only. So we took that, and we're making this with special effects. So it won't be a hologram — it'll be a film of Ronnie himself with the Dio live band and special effects. So we're working on that. And that we can take anywhere. So we're hoping to come to Brazil next year."
