Oscar-winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) is on his way to replacing Tom Hanks as director Steven Spielberg‘s right hand actor. He has most recently been cast to star in the ensemble for the upcoming sci-fi/fantasy adaptation Ready Player One, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He will be joining Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse), Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and The Dying Girl), Simon Pegg (Star Trek Into Darkness), and Ben Mendelsohn (Mississippi Grind). The story – written and co-adapted by Ernest Cline – follows a young gamer competing in an online treasure hunt against cutthroat players after the creator of the game dies and leaves behind his fortune as the final prize. Rylance has signed on to play James Donovan Halliday, the enigmatic creator.
Rylance first worked with Spielberg in 2015’s Bridge of Spies, which earned the actor his first ever Oscar nomination and win. Coming in the next couple years, he will be working with Spielberg again in the Roald Dahl children’s book adaptation The BFG, and as Pope Pius IX in The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. Spielberg and Warner Bros. worked hard to get Rylance into Ready Player One, working around his schedule since he is set to start shooting Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk in May. RPO is now looking at a June start date.
One thing is definitely clear, Mark Rylance will likely become a household name quite soon. Ready Player One is slated to hit theaters on March 30, 2018.
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