by: S. Scott Stanikmas

I loved Ernie Cline’s book Ready Player One. It was a pop culture geek’s wet dream, with so many references to 80’s music, movies, games and TV shows. So it was a real pleasure to hear that the man who pretty much made the eighties, Steven Spielberg, would be sitting behind the camera for this one. The only problem was finding an opening in the filmmaker’s schedule.

But it doesn’t look like that’s a problem anymore.

The Hollywood Reporter has the news that Warner Bros is planting their flag in December 15, 2017 for a release date for the film adaptation of Ready Player One.

The film, which will be adapted by Zak Penn, is pretty much Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a virtual reality world…and instead of sweets we get all kinds of entertainment as our sustenance.

Ready Player One takes place in a future where mostly everyone lives their lives in a VR world called The Oasis. The creator of this world hid an Easter egg somewhere, promising that whoever finds it would get a vast amount of wealth and control over The Oasis itself. The problem is the clues are damn near impossible to decipher, even years after the death of the man who created the giant egg hunt.

Now Wade, a high school student, must battle other egg hunters (or ‘gunters’ as they like to be called) for the ultimate prize. And battling everyone is an evil and greedy corporation whose sole goal is to find the egg and gain control of The Oasis for pure monetary gain.

I have no doubt that the director will treat the property with the utmost respect. Considering the visuals grandeur of the story, I’m hoping Spielberg and his crew ramp up their work sooner rather than later so we get exactly what Cline has committed to the page.