Simon Pegg in talks to join Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

With production on Steven Spielberg's next film set to kick off in June, casting for READY PLAYER ONE is still ongoing. Many of the major roles have already been filled, Tye Sheridan will star as Wade Watts, a poor orphan from the "stacks" surrounding metropolitan Oklahoma City who joins the virtual universe known as the OASIS, Olivia Cooke will be playing Samantha Cook, a fellow member of the OASIS as well a competitor and love interest for Tye Sheridan's Wade, and Ben Mendelsohn will play Nolan Sorrento, an executive who hopes to take over and monetize the OASIS. Now, THR reports that Simon Pegg is currently in talks to join the film as well.

The outlet reports that Simon Pegg will play Orgen Morrow, the co-creator of OASIS. This wouldn't be Pegg's first film with Steven Spielberg as he appeared, alongside Nick Frost, as Thompson in THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN. Simon Pegg has been popping up in more big-budget genre fare lately, including STAR WARS, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and STAR TREK. Pegg penned the next installment of the rebooted STAR TREK franchise along with Doug Jung, as well as appearing as Scotty, and STAR TREK BEYOND will be hitting theaters on July 22, 2016.

A synopsis for READY PLAYER ONE:

The story of a virtual-reality game creator who offers up his entire company to the best player who can find an Easter egg in one of his many virtual worlds via a game called OASIS. A teenager named Wade Watts decides to take it on after millions have failed over many years. The key to winning the game is a plethora of pop culture clues from the 1980s. Whomever figures it out and wins the game — without having their avatars killed in the process — takes over the entire OASIS empire.

READY PLAYER ONE is set for a March 30, 2018 release, but our next dose of Spielberg, THE BFG, hits theaters on July 1, 2016.

Ready Player One art by Florian de Gesincourt.