In 2011, Hollywood screenwriter Ernest Cline (Fanboys) published his debut novel Ready Player One. Halfway between dystopian Sci-fi and a wish-fulfillment fantasy, it struck a chord among certain segments of readers with its countless –one could say relentless – references to pop culture of the previous decades. This year, Cline published the sequel, creatively titled Ready Player Two, which tells you all you need to know about the level of imagination involved in the creative process.
In his recent talk with Inverse, Cline touched upon the possibility of a movie sequel. After all, Warner Bros. released the live-action Ready Player One movie in 2018, directed by none other than Steven Spielberg. With a production cost of approximately $175 million and a screenplay by Zak Penn (X2, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Cline himself, the film went to gross almost $583 million worldwide. According to Cline, the project does exist, and it is in the early stages of development. However, with the coronavirus throwing the entire entertainment industry in chaos, we will have to wait and see what exactly – if anything – will come out of this project. So far, Ready Player Two hasn’t been nearly as successful as its predecessor. While Ready Player One stayed on New York Times Bestseller lists for 100 weeks, the sequel dropped out after only four.
