Fans of Ernest Cline’s popular sci-fi novel Ready Player One got their first look at Steven Spielberg’s upcoming adaptation of the book a year ago when some unofficial photos from the set in Birmingham, England, found their way online. It wasn’t until this week, however, that the first studio-sanctioned Ready Player One movie photo was released.
The image debuted in Entertainment Weekly as part of a preview of this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, and it features star Tye Sheridan as Wade Watts, fully immersed in the virtual reality universe of OASIS, where he’s better known by the name “Parzival.”
Anyone familiar with the book will likely recognize the setting of the photo, which depicts Sheridan’s character in visor and VR gloves inside the ramshackle van that serves as his headquarters during forays into OASIS. Newspapers describing some of the history of the VR world line one side of the van’s interior, and leftover pizza boxes are scattered around the floor.
Directed by Spielberg, Ready Player One casts Sheridan as one of many people caught up in an elaborate treasure hunt in the digital realm of OASIS that will give the winner full control of the virtual universe. Competing against fellow treasure hunters and a sinister corporation looking to monetize OASIS, Wade must use his encyclopedic knowledge of the OASIS creator’s favorite era of pop culture, the 1980s, in order to win the ultimate prize.
Along with Sheridan in the lead role, Ready Player One also stars Olivia Cook (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Simon Pegg (Star Trek), T.J. Miller (Deadpool), and Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). The script for the film was penned by Zak Penn (The Avengers) and Eric Eason (Manito), as well as Cline. Back to the Future trilogy composer Alan Silvestri will compose the music for the film.
Given Sheridan’s role as Cyclops in the recent X-Men films (X-Men: Days of the Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse), it’s interesting to see that the first photo from Ready Player One features the actor wearing, well … another visor.
Ready Player One is scheduled to hit theaters March 30, 2018.