Tye Sheridan To Lead Steven Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’
A few weeks ago whenReady Player Onegot bumped to 2018, to avoid the unstoppableStar Wars Episode VIII, AngienoteddirectorSteven Spielbergand all involved were still searching for a male lead. Well, it looks like they’ve found their guy, because it’s just been reportedTye Sheridanwill star in the film.
Learn more about the adaptation ofErnest Cline’s hit novel below.
The Wrapsays Sheridan has joined the Ready Player One cast alongsideOlivia Cooke(Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) andBen Mendelsohn(Bloodline). Back in September, when Cooke signed on, it was said that Spielberg was hoping to cast the two leads at the same time, but that he just couldn’t find the right male lead.
IfZak Penn’s adpatation ofReady Player Oneisn’t a huge departure from the source material, then Sheridan will play Wade Watts, who finds the first of the three keys, in a virtual reality space called OASIS, that could give him the power to control the world.Ready Player Oneis, as Spielberg described it, both a cautionary tale and a “big rockin' adventure movie”:
A crystal ball into exactly what is going to be happening not in 30 or 40 years but in between five and ten years from now, where a virtual world becomes almost like a drug of choice and where we are spending more time in a nonorganic space than we are breathing and eating and interacting in real life. This movie is going to show why it’s interesting not living in the real world but what we’re missing by not. It’s a cautionary tale but it’s also a big rockin' adventure movie, too.
This won’t be Sheridan’s first big studio movie. He plays Cyclops in this summer’sX-Men: Apocalypse. The actor made his debut inTerrence Malick’sTree of Lifeback in 2011, and he’s been a part of some high-quality movies since then (most notably,Jeff Nichols’Mud). Spielberg has found a fine leading man forRead Player One, which, as the directorstated, will not feature any references to his own work.
With three of the leading roles locked down, we should expect to hear more casting news soon. Maybe we’ll even get more information on whetherSpielberg actually met withGene Wilderfor a role. Some fans suggested he’d be perfect for the role of OASIS creator James Halliday.
