Although he directed the Ready Player One movie, Steven Spielberg is unlikely to helm the film version of the upcoming sequel novel, Ready Player Two. An adaptation of the 2011 book of the same name by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One takes place in a dystopian future where people spend most of their time playing games in the OASIS: a virtual reality heavily informed by its creator James Halliday’s obsession with late 20th and early 21st century pop culture. When Halliday passes away, he announces a final game that will grant ownership of the OASIS to whoever wins, pitting everyday players like Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) against the corporate forces seeking to control Halliday’s creation.
Released in 2018, the film version of Ready Player One was generally well-received by critics and went on to become a respectably-sized hit at the box office, grossing $583 million against a budget reported to be as high as $175 million. It’s since been announced that Cline’s sequel novel Ready Player Two (which he was already confirmed to be working on a few years before Spielberg’s movie opened) is slated to be released by Ballatine Books this fall on November 24. For the time being, though, Ready Player One film distributor and producer Warner Bros. has yet to reveal whether it has any intention of adapting the book for the big screen.
It’s difficult to say whether WB is even all that interested in making a Ready Player Two film. The first movie may’ve turned a healthy profit, but it wasn’t a huge success by present-day tentpole standards and there isn’t necessarily a vocal demand for a sequel (though, obviously, many fans of the original movie would be interested). Even if it were to happen, Spielberg’s involvement would be up in the air. The filmmaking legend is no stranger to sequels, having helmed projects like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and multiple Indiana Jones followups in the past. However, he usually only makes sequels to movies that were undeniable smash-hits and Ready Player One doesn’t really fit the bill.
There are other factors that similarly throw Spielberg’s potential involvement with a Ready Player Two movie into doubt. During an interview with Collider in 2018 to promote Ready Player One‘s theatrical release, Cline said Spielberg told him it was “the third hardest film he’s made,” behind only Jaws (an infamously difficult shoot) and Saving Private Ryan. For that reason, he might be more inclined to serve as an executive producer only, were Ready Player Two to become a film. There’s also the question of whether Spielberg’s all that interested in returning to the OASIS from a creative perspective. He seemed to say (and do) everything he wanted to with the Ready Player One universe the first time around, so he may be all the more inclined to let another director tack a crack at the franchise in a sequel. His recent departure as director on Indiana Jones 5 (which he’s still producing) further signals a desire on his part to avoid repeating himself right now.
In either event, WB is already prepared to move forward with a Ready Player Two movie. Ready Player One costar Olivia Cooke has confirmed she signed on for sequels, and it goes without saying she’s not the only cast member contractually obligated to come back for another film (should it happen). Spielberg, meanwhile, is currently in post-production on his West Side Story movie and has yet to announce his next directorial effort since he stepped down from Indiana Jones 5. Even so, there are a lot of items on his to-do list at the moment, including long-developing passion projects like The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara and the DC Comics adaptation Blackhawk. That’s all the more reason to doubt he’ll be sitting in the director’s chair on any future adventures in the OASIS.
