Summary

• The Ready Player Two movie is uncertain due to negative reviews of the sequel novel, which were criticized for being derivative and not adding anything new.
• The sequel novel was released in November 2020, and while author Ernest Cline claims a movie is in the works, Warner Bros. has not officially greenlit the project.
• Steven Spielberg is attached to Ready Player Two as a producer, potentially raising the chances of the film being green-lit.

With the success of 2018's Ready Player One, a sequel seemed inevitable, and now Ready Player Two is finally happening. Based on Ernest Cline's 2011 novel, Ready Player One stars Tye Sheridan as Wade Watts, an Ohio native who immerses himself in a virtual reality realm known as OASIS. 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. However, when Cline released his much-anticipated sequel novel in 2020, Ready Player Two was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. This definitely hurt the hype for the Ready Player Two movie, creating an even bigger question mark of whether it'll even get made. Now, the sequel is moving forward after years of development, with big names like Steven Spielberg once again attached.

RELATED: Ready Player One Ending & Halliday's Easter Egg Explained

Ready Player Two Latest News

Steven Spielberg Is Involved With The Sequel

After years of silence regarding a follow-up to Ready Player One, the latest news reveals that Steven Spielberg is involved with Ready Player Two. The legendary Hollywood figure behind Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Schindler's List directed 2018's Ready Player One, but he will not helm the new movie. Instead, Spielberg has revealed that he will be a producer on the not-yet-confirmed film. "We’re in the discovery phase, trying to figure out what’s next." Spielberg mentioned, suggesting the project is still in its infancy.

Ready Player Two Is Not Confirmed Yet

The Movie Is Still Only In Development

Even though legendary director Steven Spielberg has signed on to produce the project, Ready Player Two is still not officially confirmed. As Spielberg suggested, the project is likely still in the earliest phases of development, and won't take shape for quite some time. However, with Spielberg behind it, there's little doubt that Ready Player Two will get made eventually.

Stream Ready Player One on Netflix.

Ready Player Two Cast

Who Could Return?

Assuming that Warner Bros. will move forward with a Ready Player Two movie, Olivia Cooke will presumably reprise her role as Samantha Cook/Art3mis since her character appears in both books. As for Ready Player One's male lead, Wade Watts, 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."

Unlike in the novel, the entire group of heroes known as the "High Five" survive their ordeal, meaning the full roster could return in Ready Player Two. Along with Cooke and Sheridan, Philip Zhao could return as Zhou/Shoto, Lena Waithe as Helen/Tech, and Win Morisaki as Daito. However, with so much time ing between sequels, it is unclear who would be willing to come back. Likewise, necessary changes to the poorly received source material might necessitate further changes.

Ready Player Two Story Details

What Happens In The Book?

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. Likewise, 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. Only time will tell exactly how closely the sequel sticks to the book, and it may be abandoned completely in favor of a new storyline.