Simon Pegg is in talks to join Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction thriller “Ready Player One” for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow.
If the deal closes, Pegg will join Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke and Ben Mendelsohn in the virtual universe Oasis, created in the 2011 novel by Ernest Cline.
In the story, set in the year 2044, humans have come to prefer Oasis to the real world. Sheridan will portray a teen who winds up competing in a treasure hunt against ruthless foes after the game’s founder dies.
Pegg will play Ogden Morrow, the co-creator of Oasis. “Bloodine” actor Mendelsohn has been cast as the villain.
Spielberg is producing “Ready Player One” through his Amblin Partners banner, along with Donald De Line, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Dan Farah.
Warner Bros. decided on Feb. 9 that it would move “Ready Player One” back three months to March 30, 2018, which allows the film to steer clear of “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”
Pegg last co-starred in “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” He will be seen in July as Scotty in “Star Trek Beyond,” which he also co-wrote.
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Pegg is repped by UTA, Hansen Jacobson and UK’s Dawn Sedgwick Management. The news was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
