A Ready Player One sequel is coming, but Steven Spielberg won't direct

A sequel to Ready Player One is in the works – though Steven Spielberg won't be returning to helm the film. 

The first movie is adapted from Ernest Cline's novel of the same name, and starred Tye Sheridan, House of the Dragon's Olivia Cooke, and Rogue One's Ben Mendelsohn. 

Speaking to Roger Friedman for Showbiz411 after the Oscars, Spielberg confirmed that he won't be directing Ready Player Two and will instead produce. "We're in the discovery phase, trying to figure out what's next," Spielberg said of his plans more generally. 

Ready Player Two is Cline's follow-up to the first book, released in 2020. Cline told Inverse back then that a sequel movie would happen. "It's in the early stages right now," he revealed, adding, "especially since Hollywood is in limbo right now. But I can tell from the experience of making the first movie that everybody had a lot of fun."

The follow-up novel also follows Wade Watts, and, this time, he's once again searching for a prize in a virtual reality. Way back in 2017, Cline told ComingSoon.net that he'd "bounce ideas off of [Spielberg]" for his sequel novel. 

As for Spielberg, he was nominated at the Oscars via Maestro's Best Picture nod – Spielberg was a producer on the film. Best Picture ultimately went to Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, however. You can read the full list of the 2024 Oscars winners through the link. 

There's no further update on the Ready Player Two movie for now, but, while you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates for 2024.