Ready Player Two: Is The Sequel Happening?

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Will a Ready Player Two movie ever happen? In 2018, Warner Bros. released an adaptation of Ernest Cline's 2011 novel Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg. It starred Tye Sheridan as Wade Watts, an Ohio native who immerses himself in a virtual reality realm known as OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation). The teenager plays under the name Parzival, and participates in an Easter egg challenge orchestrated by OASIS' late co-founder James Halliday (Mark Rylance). Parzival teams up with fellow "Gunter" Samantha Cook, aka Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), and competes in three challenges while fending off the tech mogul Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn).

Ready Player One pleased moviegoers and critics alike with its world-building and pop culture references, including an extended homage to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic The Shining. However, when Cline released his much-anticipated sequel novel, Ready Player Two, in November 2020, it was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews, as critics panned the book for not adding anything new to the world and being derivative of other pop culture media. This definitely hurt the hype for the Ready Player Two movie, creating an even bigger question mark of whether it'll even get made.

Ready Player Two Could Be Happening

The Ready Player Two novel released on November 24, 2020. According to Ready Player One screenwriter Zak Penn, Cline reportedly began working on the sequel way back in 2015 though the news wasn't confirmed until late 2017 (via Slash Film). On October 9, 2020, Cline officially began his virtual book tour for New York Comic Con 2020 by speaking with Wil Wheaton, who would reprise his role as the audiobook reader for Ready Player Two. As of now, Warner Bros. hasn't officially greenlit a Ready Player Two movie, though in December 2020, Cline claimed that a Ready Player Two movie was "in the works." (via Inverse)

Ready Player Two Movie Release Date

Warner Bros. initially acquired the movie rights to Ready Player One before Cline's book was released. Filming commenced six years later in July 2016 and then wrapped in September 2016. Eighteen months later, Ready Player One premiered in March 2018. However, it's near-impossible to predict a potential release date for Ready Player Two as the film has yet to be greenlit, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are currently ongoing. In a scenario where the strikes wrap and the sequel immediately gets greenlit, this would likely put the release 20 months after confirmation, which would mean a 2025 release date.

Ready Player Two Cast

Assuming that Warner Bros. will move forward with a Ready Player Two movie, Olivia Cooke will presumably reprise her role due to contractual obligations. As for Ready Player One's male lead, Tye Sheridan is ready to return for a sequel. In September 2020, the actor discussed Ready Player Two and said, "I don't really know what the plan is yet... I loved working on that film, so yeah, I hope... I hope we get to do another."

Ready Player Two Story Details

Penguin Random House's official synopsis for Ready Player Two is:

Days after OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS more wondrous — and addictive — then even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle and a new quest, a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize, and an unexpected, impossibly powerful, new and dangerous rival awaits, one who will kill millions to get what he wants. Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time, the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

While this sounds like a fun and cinematic premise, the reviews for Ready Player Two were largely underwhelming, so should the movie happen, it may do well to deviate from the novel. However, the Ready Player One movie made significant changes from the book, and this ultimately served the film for the better, so there's hope for Ready Player Two yet.