'Ready Player One' Author Ernest Cline's 'Armada' To Be Made Into A Movie

‘Ready Player One’ Author Ernest Cline’s ‘Armada’ To Be Made Into A Movie

It looks likeReady Player Onewill just be the beginning ofErnest Cline’s buzzy Hollywood career. AnArmadamovie adaptation, based on Cline’s sophomore novel, is officially in development at Universal Studios.

ScreenwriterDan Mazeauhas been tapped to pen the script to theArmadamovie, according toDeadline.

Cline wrote an early draft of the script and will remain in collaboration with Mazeau as theWrath of the Titansscreenwriter pens another draft. Mazeau’s other writing credits includeWorld’s Most Wantedfor Vin Diesel,Section 6for Joe Cornish and Marc Platt, and an untitledVan Helsingmovie. He has also written scripts forThe Flashand aJonny Questadaptation.

Armadais Cline’s follow-up novel after the soaring success of his literary debut,Ready Player One. The 2015 book follows a teenager who plays an online video game fighting an alien invasion, only to be recruited by an international galactic army who had been using the game to train him and others to fend off a real alien invasion. So basically, a riff onThe Last Starfighter.

LikeReady Player One,Armadais also filled to the brim with Easter eggs and and references to ’80s and ’90s pop culture.

Armadawasn’t quite as well-received asReady Player One, though it remained on the New York Times bestseller list for five weeks.AV Clubcalled it “a pale imitation of” Cline’s own work," whileThe Washington PostsaidArmadawas an exercise in “nostalgic narcissism.” However,many reviewersnoted how cinematic the story is, observing that while it may be a poor novel,Armadawould make for a great movie. How fortunate, then, that Universal is bringingArmadato the medium to which it possibly belongs.

Cline is enjoying the box office run ofReady Player One, which just crossed the$200 million thresholdworldwide. Cline co-wrote theSteven Spielberg-directed blockbuster withZak Penn.It’s uncertain whether he’ll keep his writing credit forArmadaas Mazeau boards the project.

Dan Farah(Ready Player One) andDylan Clark(Planet of the Apes) are producingArmada. No planned release date has been set by Universal.