Steven Spielberg to Direct Awesome Pop Culture Novel ‘Ready Player One’

Those who have read the cult favorite novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline understand that news that one of pop cultures founding members, Steven Spielberg, is now set to direct the film adaptation is pretty geek-out worthy news. Ready Player One is a sci-fi novel about a boy, Wade Watts, who spends his time plugged into the OASIS, a virtual utopia where people attend school and work and also explore the vast virtual universe created by James Halliday, a man obsessed with the ’80s. When Halliday dies, he leaves behind an easter egg hunt for his dedicated followers to embark on to gain control of the OASIS. The book references tons of games and movies, many of which Spielberg had a hand in making, which makes for some pretty meta news. Who best to direct a film about a futuristic gaming community obsessed with the ’80s than the man who helped shape that decade?

The film project has had some trouble attaching a director with both Robert Zemeckis and even Christopher Nolan showing interest at certain points.

Spielberg is finishing production on his Tom Hanks helmed drama Bridge of Spies which comes out in October and he has yet to start shooting his next project, Roald Dahl’s The BFG—(for which our inner child is also extremely excited). We’ll wait as long as it takes Steven, just bring our futuristic ’80s dreams to life!