“Going outside is highly overrated,” famously declaredErnest Cline’s blockbuster debut novelReady Player One.
Back in 2012, all that seemed pretty far-fetched.
Most of the new novel’s story line is being kept secret.
Credit: Dan Winters
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So when did you first start thinking of ideas for the sequel?
ERNEST CLINE: I tried to set up the possibility of a sequel when I wrote the first novel.
That’s when I started to really write the sequel.
And if there’s no book to base the sequel on, then that won’t stop them.
So it was hard to think about anything else once I was there.
Were you concerned about doubling down?
It did give me a huge amount of anxiousness going into writing it.
I know from my own experiencelike with theStar Warsprequelsthat expectations are often resentments waiting to happen.
The higher your expectations, the more you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
The great thing about my first novel was that nobody knew who I was and people could discover it.
He would call occasionally and ask if it was done.
At the same time, I wasn’t going to let anyone rush me.
It’s a strange sort of storytelling.
I worked onReady Player Onefor almost a decade.
The way that I would do the puzzles is very elaborate.
So it’s different than other writing projects.
I think a lot of people are going to enjoy it.
I know some people’s expectations might not be met and I’m braced for that too.
I sort of feel like everything in fandom now becomes controversial to some extent.
It’s part of the game.
But most artists would kill for that.
The sequel picks up a little over a week after the first book ends.
Then there’s a gap of time, but it all kind of flows out of the first story.
Yeah, when I read the jacket description I was pleased by that.
So getting to bounce ideas off of him and get his reaction was really valuable.
He lived in that world of the book for several years and knows it as well as anybody.
What’s a specific piece of advice he gave?
Or some idea he shot down?
He did not shoot anything down.
He was really kind and generous.
He knows what it’s like to be a writer.
I really wanted to read the draft of his screenplay forAIwhich has never been published.
He knows how much weight his opinion carries with people.
So he’s very gentle with writers.
But he was so supportive and read multiple drafts.
On the other hand, he’s kind of a minor character.
I’ve never seen that workeven withThe Wizard of Oz, and especiallyThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy.
They had to take so many liberties, but it’s still great.
But I failed at that a couple times.
So do you view this as a sequel that closes off the story or as an ongoing franchise?
I’d always envisioned it as a trilogy of stories.
It’s a coming-of-age story.
It won’t be calledReady Player Three, it’ll be more likeReady Player Zero.
It’s likeStand by Me.
SoReady Player Twois basically the end of the story as you currently see it.
Yes, as I currently see it.
They went on and his son continued them.
So I don’t know.
There might be aReady Player Sevenfrom my daughter, but probably not.
