There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of the Ready Player One franchise, and while the sequel has an obvious path forward, it really shouldn’t take it. Ready Player One was one of the biggest movies of 2018, with the exciting Steven Spielberg film combining a variety of franchises into one universe in order to create a massive box office hit. Despite the success of Ready Player One, there still hasn’t been a movie sequel yet. However, there is one clear way for Ready Player One to continue, even if it would be a bad decision.
2018’s Ready Player One is the critically acclaimed adaptation of the Ernest Cline book of the same name, with it bringing the world of the OASIS to the big screen for the first time. While the original book was already well-known, Steven Spielberg’s movie adaptation put the Ready Player One franchise in front of more eyes than ever before, with all-new fans becoming invested in the stories of Parzival, Art3mis, and the rest of the gang. Ready Player One‘s soundtrack and CGI characters are full of references to iconic media, and even more could be explored in a sequel.
A Ready Player One Movie Line Perfectly Set Up Ready Player Two 2 Years Before The Book Came Out
Spielberg changed the nature of Halliday’s avatar in his Ready Player One movie, coincidentally setting up the book sequel’s villain plot twist.
Ready Player Two Makes A Ready Player One Sequel Easy To Accomplish
There is a lot of mystery surrounding why a sequel to Ready Player One is taking so long, as one franchise element makes a Ready Player One sequel easy to accomplish: Ready Player Two. Author Ernest Cline returned to the world of OASIS after the success of the film, bringing the main cast back together for another story. Ready Player Two sees Parzival discover a new virtual reality headset that allows users to experience even more in-depth sensations while in the OASIS. However, the headsets come with some unforeseen repercussions as well as another massive hunt.
If a movie sequel to Ready Player One does happen, the film could simply adapt the story of Ready Player Two, meaning that coming up with a new story won’t be a problem. This story allows the film to bring all of the main actors back while also recapturing the formula of the original film, with the sequel featuring another massive race to find a secret treasure while exploring the OASIS. However, the addition of the headset would prevent the film from simply repeating the story of the first film, making the Ready Player One sequel really easy to accomplish.
Why Ready Player One’s Sequel Shouldn’t Adapt The Second Book
Although adapting the story of Ready Player Two for a Ready Player One sequel would make sense, the film shouldn’t go this route. As it turns out, the second book in the Ready Player One series was met with incredibly poor critical reception, with this undoubtedly carrying over to the movie if the book sequel were to be adapted. The main criticisms of Ready Player Two were its lack of heart and the needless pop culture references, with some critics claiming that the book’s narrative felt like an excuse to shove even more Easter eggs into the franchise.
While the original Ready Player One book did receive some of the same criticisms, they weren’t nearly as harsh compared to Ready Player Two. This is mostly because several book changes were made in Ready Player One, with hindsight allowing the story to be tweaked for the film in several ways. While the story of Ready Player Two could be changed when making a film adaptation as well, a lot more work would have to be done. Because of this, it would simply be better for the movie sequel to tell an all-new story.
How A Ready Player One Sequel Can Happen Without Using The Source Material
Although it may seem like an odd choice at first, not adapting Ready Player Two is the right call, as a Ready Player One sequel can easily happen without using the source material. The ending of Ready Player One sees Parzival and the High-5 take over the OASIS, with this status quo change opening the door for all kinds of new possibilities. The film could simply explore the struggles that come with operating the massive digital universe, even highlighting other people who want to take control from Parzival.
A Ready Player One sequel could even spend more time in the real world, as the decision to close the OASIS twice a week would probably be pretty controversial in the world of the franchise. On top of that, the film could further explore Parzival and Atr3mis’ relationship, adding the heart that was missing from the book. While there are still tons of questions up in the air surrounding Ready Player One, the sequel’s path forward may not be so obvious.
Ready Player One
Adapted from Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name, Ready Player One follows Wade Watts, an orphan who desperately wants to win a seemingly-impossible video game competition that would see him win ownership of the OASIS, a sophisticated virtual reality game that had revolutionized modern life. Helped by his friends and racing against time to find the hidden clues before the OASIS is claimed by an evil conglomerate, Wade’s love of the game is put to the test.
- Release Date
- March 29, 2018
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- T.J. Miller , Hannah John-Kamen , Lena Waithe , Mark Rylance , Mckenna Grace , Letitia Wright , Ben Mendelsohn , Ralph Ineson , Simon Pegg , Olivia Cooke , Tye Sheridan
- Runtime
- 2h 20m
- Writers
- Eric Eason , Zak Penn , Ernest Cline
- Budget
- 155–175 million
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
