X-Men: Dark Phoenix isn’t the only 2018 release to feature Tye Sheridan’s name on the masthead – Ready Player One, the long-in-development adaptation from Steven Spielberg, places Sheridan in the grubby shoes of Wade Watts, AKA Parzival, who journeys into a digital OASIS in order to make life in 2045 that little bit more bearable.
Lifted from the pages of Ernest Cline’s modern classic, Ready Player One takes place in a world crippled by social disparity. Whereas the one percent of the one percent live comfortably, the rest of humanity is left to wallow on the brink of poverty, and in order to escape from this miserable existence, the likes of Wade and his online friends indulge in a virtual reality simulation created by James Halliday (Mark Rylance), who has “recently shuffled off this mortal coil – but left behind a final game for his millions of users: Whoever solves his series of pop-culture quests wins the OASIS, along with its parent company, Gregarious Games.”
Flanked by Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), Aech (Lena Waithe), and I-R0k (T.J. Miller), Wade’s story continues into the depths of OASIS where he encounters his greatest foe, Nolan Sorrento, who will be played by Rogue One and Bloodline actor Ben Mendelsohn. It’s been a long time coming, but it looks as though Ready Player One is finally ready to showcase its wares. The first trailer is reportedly on the horizon, too, and to drum up excitement, Entertainment Weekly has shared our first look at Tye Sheridan as Wade Watts.
Originally due to go head-to-head with Star Wars: The Last Jedi (December 15th), Steven Spielberg’s long-in-development adaptation of Ready Player One has since relocated to March 30th, 2018. Curious to peer behind the curtain of Wade’s super-secret hideout? EW has posted a follow-up piece designed to recount all of the many Easter eggs hiding in plain sight. It’s one that’s riddled with potential spoilers, so unless you’re familiar with Ernest Cline’s source material, you’d be best saving that page for another time.