With Steven Spielberg recently confirming his intention to shoot geek-tastic novel adaptation Ready Player One, he’s solidifying that by casting his first actor. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl**’s Olivia Cooke is making a deal to star{
Written by Ernie Cline, the screenwriter behind Fanboys, Ready Player One follows teenager Wade Watts who likes to escape his dreary, dangerous real world by logging into Oasis, a globally networked virtual utopia where users lead idyllic alternate lives. When the game's eccentric, Steve Jobs-style billionaire creator dies, he offers up his fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Wade is pitted against powerful corporate foes and ruthless competitors who will do anything, in the Oasis and the real world, to reach the riches first. Cooke will be Sam, a Canadian blogger who goes by the handle Art3mis in Oasis and ends up joining forces with Wade.
The script started life with Cline and Eric Eason before Cline’s pal Zak Penn was hired by Warner Bros. to take a fresh pass on boiling down the sprawling tale, laden with references to classic video games, comics, movies and other pop cultural items. Spielberg has been a hunt for actors to star in the film, and Cooke won out over the likes of Elle Fanning and Lola Kirke in a recent round of tests. The director still hasn’t found his male lead yet.
As for Cooke, Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is in UK cinemas now. She’ll appear in Katie Says Goodbye and is also attached to star in The Limehouse Golem. Ready Player One, meanwhile, should be out in 2017.