Ready Player One Is Getting A Sequel, Here’s What We Know So Far
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There’s been a lot of talk about the upcoming adaptation of Ernest Cline’s geek favorite novel Ready Player One, including a potential laundry list of big time director’s who could possibly take the helm (names like Christopher Nolan, Edgar Wright, Robert Zemeckis, and others have all been mentioned). Now fans have some more good news, you might be able to return to OASIS sooner rather than later, as Cline is reportedly working on a sequel.
Zak Penn is handling the screenwriting duties for Cline’s novel, which is a monumental task give all of the pop culture nods, movie references, and shows, games, and more that are mentioned by name and play an integral part in the plot. He worked closely with Cline to maintain the spirit of the novel without having to clear an absurd amount of rights (there are, for instance, entire worlds based on cartoons and videogames). Penn recently talked with Den of Geek, and while there was talk of the film, he also dropped this bit of intel:
Ernie’s working on a sequel to it [Ready Player One], and it is one of those great ideas that has endless possibilities. And to a certain extent, the longer it exists and the more Ernie thinks about it, the more he comes up with.
Well that seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? And it sounds like he’s pretty deep into the process. This isn’t the firs time the subject of Ready Player Two has come up. Last year Cline tweeted this:
If my account doesn't get @verified soon, I may just cancel it and then predict the demise of @Twitter in Ready Player Two. 🙂 @RandomHouse
— Ernie Cline (@erniecline) October 8, 2014
The virtual reality world of OASIS is a massive sprawling setting with a nearly endless supply of possibilities, and it’s easy to imagine that Cline has bigger plans in mind. There is ample room to explore, and whether or not that involves Wade, the hero of the first book, remains to be seen, but with Cline’s twisty pop culture saturated creation, there an infinite number of places this could go.
Set in 2044, the world is a kind of raging garbage dump of a place, but OASIS provides a refuge where you can log in and do everything from go on adventures to attend school to hang out with people from around the world. After his death, the creator of OASIS left an Easter Egg filled quest that bequeaths the virtual realm to whoever completes it. Thus Wade embarks on a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style adventure where he flies a giant robot, explores distant worlds, solves riddles, and engages in what is essentially a giant game of D&D.
Ready Player One is a ton of fun, and while I’m generally skeptical of sequels, this one sounds like it could be a ton of fun. Whether or not Ready Player Two, or whatever it winds up being called, arrives before the movie, we’re looking forward to it.
