When it was announced that Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One was being turned into a film, it seemed like the natural progression for the smash-hit science fiction novel that flew off of both physical and digital booksellers’ shelves. The book touched upon the whole dystopian future that we as a culture find ourselves obsessed with, while mixing in modern pop culture references that appeal to a generation that grew up with videogames. Think a virtual Hunger Games. When Steven Spielberg signed on to direct, it was another one of those “of course” moments, considering the subject matter and tone is so very, very Spielbergian. As we saw recently with The Martian, hit sci-fi novels make for hit movies when big names are attached to them.
So, when looking to cast someone in the role of an online troll, i-R0k, they had to find the right person. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that person was Silicon Valley‘s T.J. Miller, and really, that is pretty amazing casting. Miller as Erlich Bachman in Silicon Valley is the most obnoxious, self-serving dude imaginable, right down to the way that he pronounces “Aviato.” Miller as a guy trolling a futuristic online MMO while players scramble to find the deceased creator’s hidden treasure just makes a whole lot of sense.
Ready Player One is set to begin filming in late June.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
