Wheeeee….. Steven Spielberg has just confirmed that he will be helming the highly-anticipated film adaption of the sci-fi novel, Ready Player One.
Ready Player One, Ernest Cline’s debut novel, is one of the most engrossing dystopian science fiction novels I’ve ever read. The book takes place in 2044 and follows the story of a virtual-reality game creator who offers up his entire company to the best player who can find an Easter egg in one of his many virtual worlds via a game called OASIS. A teenager named Wade Watts decides to take it on after millions have failed over many years.
Laden with pop culture references and peppered with geeky easter eggs throughout its pages, it is the definitive geek novel of this generation. Spielberg and his films are actually mentioned in the book that came out in 2011. “I also absorbed the complete filmographies of each of his favorite directors, “says the main character Wade Watts at one point as he’s studying the interests of digital utopia creator James Donovan Halliday. “Cameron, Gilliam, Jackson, Fincher, Kubrick, Lucas, Spielberg, Del Toro, Tarantino. And of course Kevin Smith.” There are also references to the Indiana Jones franchise, which Spielberg directed, and E.T. in the wide ranging cultural touchpoints of Ready Player One.
So if there’s anyone who is up to the task of bringing this sprawling video game and futuristic action set pieces to life, it is Spielberg himself.
Zak Penn, who also penned(see what we did there?) X-Men: The Last Stand and The Avengers, wrote the latest script after taking over the duties from Cline and Eric Eason. Interestingly, Penn and Cline worked together on the video game documentary Atari: Game Over and have said to be collaborating on the Ready Player One script extremely well for some time.
Ready Player One also marks Spielberg’s return to Warner Bros. after more than a decade. He last directed A.I. for the studio in 2001 and in the 1980s produced several film such as Goonies and Gremlins that helped establish his Amblin banner.
We can’t wait!
