Steven Spielberg's upcoming sci-fi film, Ready Player One, is faithful to its source material, yet original enough to keep fans of the novel at the edge of their seats. Based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One is set in a dystopian future and centers on teenager Wade Owen Watts (Tye Sheridan), aka Parzival, who spends the vast majority of his time playing the virtual reality game, OASIS, as an egg hunter (or gunters as they're known in the game).
For those that aren't familiar with the novel, the purpose of the game (and the story) is for someone to play through the VR experience, which was created by James Donovan Halliday (Mark Rylance), aka Anorak, and solve all the puzzles and riddles. The first person to find the easter egg that was left inside game will be awarded Halliday's entire company, Gregarious Games. As for those who have read the novel and think they know how everything will play out in the movie, they should think again. The filmmakers have added their own twists and turns to keep the experience fresh even for those who are keenly aware of what's going on in the film.
Rylance has been busy promoting his latest film, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, and during the movie's premiere in New York earlier this week, he told Vanity Fair that their Ready Player One film adaptation is faithful to Cline's original novel, yet it's original enough to keep fans of the book guessing -- and that's all thanks to Spielberg's willingness to keep the movie fresh for audiences. Here's what he said:
“I’d say the film is very faithful to the book, but also an original story. There will always be something new with Steven [Spielberg]. The book has a lot of puzzles and keys that the characters have to figure out, and Steven has introduced new puzzles and keys so that the people who read the book will still not know how it’s going to work out. It’s a marvelous story with twists and turns and many thrilling moments.”
The upcoming movie marks the third collaboration between Rylance and Spielberg -- the other two being 2015's Bridge of Spies, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Rudolf Abel, and 2016's The BFG, in which he played the titular friendly giant. Seeing that he's worked with the acclaimed director on two vastly different projects (one being a non-fiction work and the other being a fantasy novel adaptation), Rylance says that Spielberg has had his work cut out for him with Ready Player One:
“It’s a very, very complex film for Steven [Spielberg] to make, and he was very tired and worried making it. But, now he’s seen it, and he’s very excited. There is nothing to be worried about. It’s going to be an extraordinary movie-going experience. I’m excited to see it when it opens, like everyone else!”
Ready Player One releases next spring, which means Warner Bros. should begin marketing the movie quite soon. People have already gotten their first look at Sheridan's character playing the OASIS game, and the studio is expected to debut the film's first trailer during their upcoming Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con this Saturday, so be sure to check back then for any news regarding Spielberg's latest sci-fi adventure.
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Source: Vanity Fair
