The book READY PLAYER ONE became an instant smash around the world, and the upcoming movie hopes to please all those millions of fans. No matter what happens with the movie we can expect to have more adventures in the OASIS, as author Ernest Cline confirmed that he is writing a sequel to his massively popular book.
During a Facebook Q&A with Alamo Drafthouse, Cline was asked about if he was doing a sequel to the book, and though he couldn’t speak much about it, confirmed it’s happening and that he’s excited to jump back into the world he created:
It's true. I can't talk about it too much, but there's no better inspiration for a writer [than] to return to a world they've already worked on when they're watching Steven Spielberg bring that world to life.
Not only is he writing the sequel, but he has been bouncing ideas for it off the film’s director, Steven Spielberg, which he says has been an invaluable experience.
To get to not only collaborate with him to bring the first story to life, but then bounce ideas off of him for the sequel, is just the most gratifying thing that's ever happened to me in my life.
News about Cline writing a sequel has been circulating for about two years or so, but there hasn’t been a solid confirmation of it until now. Without spoiling anything, the book has a nice conclusion that didn’t end with any sort of cliffhanger or tease for a sequel. It’s not impossible to imagine there could be more to the story, but what direction it would take is entirely up in the air. The tricky part will be mining for fresh pop-culture references from the 80s, as I’m sure Cline is pretty tapped out.
The first book is a fantastic read, and though the nostalgic references are in heavy abundance they're always fun to notice. I have no idea where a sequel could go or how it would feel fresh because the story in the first book was so unique and well-contained to itself that a sequel too similar to it would seem like overkill. Cline seems clever enough to think of something, and it doesn’t necessarily have to pick up where the first left off, or even involve the same characters. Maybe there’s another section of the OASIS that’s all about 90s references.
READY PLAYER ONE hits theaters March 30, 2018.