John Williams, Alan Silvestri To Score Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Papers,’ ‘Ready Player One’

According to Variety, composer Alan Silvestri (who scored Forrest Gump) will score Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Ready Player One. Five-time Academy Award winning composer John Williams, who has scored almost all of Spielberg’s films, will pass on Ready Player One as he will be busy working on The Papers. Spielberg’s Amblin Productions stated, “Steven and John decided Alan Silvestri was the perfect choice for Ready Player One since Steven has worked (as a producer) with Alan on the Back to the Future films in the ’80s and Alan has scored other films for Steven’s Amblin and DreamWorks.”

Williams’ work on The Papers will mark his 28th feature collaboration with Spielberg. The political feature film centers on the controversy and publication of the Pentagon Papers, and stars multi-Oscar winning luminaries Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The title will be released by Fox in limited release on December 22, followed by a wide expansion on January 12.

Silvestri was nominated for two Oscars – Best Song for “Believe” in 2004’s Polar Express and Best Score for 1994’s Forrest Gump. He is best known for his frequent collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis. In addition to their collaborations on Polar Express and Forrest Gump, Silvestri worked with Zemeckis on the Back to the Future films as well as Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Silvestri has scored several Marvel superhero films including Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War. Other Silvestri film scores include Night at the Museum, Lilo & Stitch, Stuart Little, The Abyss, The Mummy Returns, The Delta Force, Predator and Predator 2.

The much-anticipated Ready Player One continues Silvestri’s collaboration with Spielberg’s Amblin and Dreamworks. The film is an adaptation of Ernest Cline’s acclaimed novel of the same name, a dystopian tale set in 2044 when large swaths of the population compete for rewards in a virtual world game known as OASIS. The film stars Academy Award-winning actor Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) and rising star Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse). Ready Player One is set to roll out in theaters on March 30, 2018.