With a release date now set for December 15th, 2017, things are starting to move into gear for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Casting is currently underway and AICN is reporting that the director is looking to convince Gene Wilder to come out of retirement to take on a role either here, or in The BFG.
While this report isn’t in any way confirmed, sources close to the project say that Spielberg wants the Oscar-nominated actor to star in one of his upcoming films, and they believe it could be The BFG, which would see Wilder lending his voice to the titular character.
Of course, Spielberg could instead be trying to court him for Ready Player One, and as AICN points out, it would make sense for Wilder to play James Halliday, “a gifted programmer and game designer who develops a massively popular online simulator known as OASIS.” Once Halliday dies, however, the real excitement begins, as his will tells of an Easter egg that he hid in the sim and whoever’s the lucky one to find it will inherit his fortune.
Regardless of where Wilder ends up, the fact that Spielberg is trying to get him back in front of the camera again is certainly exciting news. The actor is an absolute legend and hasn’t been seen on screen since he did a short stint on Will & Grace back in 2003. To see him out of retirement, and in a Spielberg film no less, would be fantastic. And while this report is, as we said, unconfirmed, we’re definitely holding out hope that it proves to be true.
Tell us, would you like to see Gene Wilder in The BFG, or Ready Player One? Sound off below!