Warner Bros. has been sitting on the rights to Ernie Cline’s novel Ready Player One for four years now, having acquired them in a bidding war in 2010. Things seem to be finally moving forward, however, with the involvement of renowned screenwriter Zak Penn. Having helped out on The Avengers, X2 and Pacific Rim 2, he also wrote X Men: Last Stand, Elektra and The Incredible Hulk. Now, he’s being brought in to deliver a finished script that was originally adapted by Eric Eason (Journey To The End Of The Night) and the book’s author, Cline.
Ready Player One is a futuristic sci-fi tale, set after the human race has exhausted the Earth’s supply of fossil fuels. While the world has descended into chaos and violence, the population has become increasingly reliant on a multiplayer online virtual reality simulation called OASIS – as a means of distraction and escape. With the game’s creator dead, it becomes known that he has stated in his last will and testament that his incomprehensibly large fortune – and control of OASIS – should be handed to whomever finds the ‘easter egg’ he has hidden in the game. While game users scramble to find it, a young player named Wade Watts begins to uncover clues, making him a target.
The adaptation is being produced by Donald De Line (Body Of Lies, I Love You Man) and Dan Farah (Alter Egos), who are hoping to attract a firm commitment from a director once Zak Penn’s script is in place. Casting should follow soon after, since Warner Bros. will be hoping to cash in on the trend of teenage literary adaptations that has so far produced movies such as The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner, which is soon to be released. How Ready Player One will stand up against those titles remains to be seen, but with Zak Penn now on writing duties, it will certainly be built on a firm foundation.
