Although it has lingered in development since the rights were snapped up in 2010, the adaptation of Ernie Cline’s pop culture-stuffed novel Ready Player One seems about to jump to the next level. Steven Spielberg now has his eye on it, and may end up shooting the film version after he’s finished both Bridge Of Spies and **The BFG.
Written by Cline, the screenwriter behind Fanboys, Ready Player One follows teenager Wade Watts who likes to escape his dreary, dangerous real world by logging into Oasis, a globally networked virtual utopia where users lead idyllic alternate lives.
When the game‘s eccentric, Steve Jobs-style billionaire creator dies, he offers up his fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Wade is pitted against powerful corporate foes and ruthless competitors who will do anything, in the Oasis and the real world, to reach the riches first.
The script started life with Cline and Eric Eason before Cline’s pal Zak Penn was hired by Warner Bros. to take a fresh pass on boiling down the sprawling tale, laden with references to classic video games, comics, movies and other pop cultural items. Assuming he ends up taking it on – according to Deadline, signs are good that he will – Spielberg’s cache will no doubt be a big boost as the studio starts the thorny mission to convince rights holders from other companies to let their iconic trademarks and characters appear.
Bridge Of Spies, Spielberg’s new Cold War thriller, is out in the UK on October 9. **The BFG **shoots this year and will hit British cinemas on July 22, 2016.