Highly acclaimed director Steven Spielberg is currently working on the film Ready Player One and news outlets have reported readings and casting auditions the past week. After being shortlisted, Olivia Cooke has been chosen to play female lead role in Ready Player One, which takes her out of the contention for Star Wars Episode 8.
The news was broken by The Hollywood Reporter, stating that the "Me and Earl and The Dying Girl" star Olivia Cooke has clinched the female lead role Sam, or Art3mis in the virtual world. It was ealier reported that the shortlist included Elle Faning and Lola Kirke but Cooke emerged victorious after the readings and tests.
However, this casting also meant that Cooke will be out of the contention for Star Wars Episode 8. According to The Wrap, Cooke was part of top contenders for the new female lead for the latest sequel of the Star Wars franchise, along with Tatiana Malsany.
While the Cooke has nabbed the female lead part, the male lead character has yet to find its actor. According to the Collider, the initial plan was to "cast the male and female leads at the same time" but the female lead slot has been filled up earlier. Readings and auditions for Wade Watts, the main character, are said to be continuing in Los Angeles and New York.
Ready Player One is based on Ernie Cline's bestselling novel of the same name. Part of the Young Adult or YA genre, the story is about Wade Watts, a gunter (a portmanteau of egg hunter) who discovers the first key to unlocking OASIS, which is a "highly valuable, online virtual reality space".
Ready Player One shows the hunt for the keys, in which whoever wins gets OASIS under his/her control and, "in this dystopian future, means control over the world." Olivia Cooke's Sam/Art3mis is a virtual friend/object of attraction for the main hero.
Warner Bros. has schedules Ready Player One to hit theatres on December 15, 2017 and production will possibly begin in the first half of next year. Whether it is schedule-wise or commitment wise, Cooke's yes to Steven Spielberg may mean an out on her bid for Star Wars Episode8.
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