Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One paid homage to some of the world’s most iconic pop culture IPs. The action-adventure film was set in a future where the population lives vicariously in a virtual reality called the OASIS and is on an ‘Easter Egg’ hunt to find the clues left by the billionaire founder of the program.
Based on the book by Ernest Cline, the film had some key changes, inculcating several IPs that were not present in the novel. The film earned $607 million at the box office and was a commercial success. While the novel received a critically panned sequel, Spielberg recently mentioned that a Ready Player Two film was in development, although, he would not be directing it.
Steven Spielberg Will Be Producing Ready Player Two
The novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline explored the pop culture that defined a generation of enthusiasts and a tribute to many popular IPs such as WarGames, Pac-Man, Blade Runner, and more. The movie rights for the novel were reportedly bought even before the book was released and was in development for a few years until Steven Spielberg became attached to it.
Spielberg’s Ready Player One went a step further by securing the rights to depict popular IPs such as Batman, The Shining, Atari, and more. The film starred Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, and Ben Mendelsohn. It was a commercial success, earning $607 million against a $175 million budget.
In 2020, Ernest Cline released the sequel Ready Player Two to negative reviews. However, Spielberg recently revealed that a sequel based on the book was in development. In an interview with Showbiz 411 at the Oppenheimer Oscars party, Steven Spielberg revealed that he and the team were still discovering what to do next and that he did not have any production lined up for the year.
Spielberg also mentioned that he would be attached as a producer on the Ready Player Two adaptation and that it was in active development. Author Ernest Cline too revealed that the film was in developmental stages. He said to Inverse,
“It’s in the early stages right now, especially since Hollywood is in limbo right now. But I can tell from the experience of making the first movie that everybody had a lot of fun. We talked about the possibility of there being a Ready Player Two when we were making Ready Player One. In Hollywood, you never know.”
Though the film has not been greenlit by WB, Steven Spielberg seems to have confirmed the sequel’s development and his involvement as only a producer.
Fans Are Concerned About Ready Player Two Being As Bad As The Book
With Steven Spielberg not attached to direct Ready Player Two, speculations arise on why the filmmaker decided to step aside for the sequel. The filmmaker has given the reins of his directorial only twice before, in the Jurassic Park franchise and recently in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The filmmaker has also been a hands-off producer on films such as the Transformers franchise, The Color of Purple, and Maestro.
Fans wondered whether Spielberg chose to distance himself from the project due to the negative reception received by Ready Player Two. The novel was criticized for being too long and critics mentioned that the endearing pop culture references of the first novel felt lazy in the sequel (via Wired).
No no no… ready player two was an awful novel. It’s a parody of itself and it’s just poorly written and does an injustice to the first novels material.
— Daniel Crespo (@crisiscrespo) March 13, 2024
Honestly, let's hope it's better than the book. It was a tough one to get through
— Eric Hoce (@EricJHoce) March 13, 2024
This movie will be a whirlwind for people who didn’t read the book 😂
— sad (@shaybuttasauce) March 13, 2024
I’m here to ask that that they stop developing.
— Suq Mahdiq (@PARTYATJS) March 13, 2024
So all that means is he’ll get his bag for having his name associated with it. Gonna be a terrible sequel I bet
— Marcus (@BatmanLoeza) March 13, 2024
Writer Ernest Cline seemed to have taken the criticisms given to him gracefully and mentioned that he was glad about it as it meant that he had a huge audience who read his work. He said to Inverse,
“Criticism, and really vitriolic criticism, is a side effect of massive success that I never imagined I would ever have. I’m in the position that any writer would kill to be in and have this big of an audience and to have a huge book come out. That’s a blessing.”
Despite the criticisms and negative reception, a Ready Player Two film seems to be in development. Fans hope that the film will correct the mistakes made by the book.
