The film version of Ernest Cline’s wildly popular Ready Player One is moving closer to production. The book, a dystopian science fiction story set in a virtual world built around video games and D&D lore, is set to be adapted by Steven Spielberg according to a new report from Deadline.
The 2011 novel follows a highly skilled gamer named Wade Watts. Watts, who lives in a bleak future, has developed an obsession with 1980s pop culture. He embarks on a virtual treasure hunt seeking fame and fortune that will free him from his rough life in The Stacks. Cline’s own description of the story is “What if Willy Wonka was a video game maker and he held his contest with the golden ticket inside a video game? What riddles would there be?”
The novel is being adapted by Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: The Last Stand and director of the documentary Atari: Game Over) and Cline himself.
Warner Bros first bought the film rights to Ready Player One in 2010, before the book had been published by Random House. Spielberg is reportedly looking to get stuck into Ready Player One after he wraps up The BFG, a film based on the Roal Dahl novel of the same name and not the awesome room-clearing weapon from Doom.
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