Steven Spielberg to Direct Gamer Movie Ready Player One

Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg has announced his next directorial project.

The Saving Private Ryan and Indiana Jones has signed on to direct the film adaptation of Ernest Cline's 2011 novel Ready Player One, a story about virtual reality and video games, among other things.

X-Men writer Zak Penn wrote the most recent script for the movie, which is in production at Warner Bros. Penn and Cline also worked together on another video game movie, last year's Atari: Game Over.

Ready Player One is loaded with pop culture references, which could cause some licensing headaches. But Warner Bros. executive Greg Silverman is enthusiastic about things working out, citing the success his film company enjoyed with The LEGO Movie.

“I think what we have to do is drill down to the best version of the movie and then see who wants to be a part of what will surely be a great film," Silverman told Deadline. “What we found with The LEGO Movie is that when we went and talked to those having the rights, people got excited about being involved."

Ready Player One is expected to be Spielberg's next movie following The BFG, based on the Roald Dahl novel. No release date or casting details for the film have been announced. Spielberg is also working the upcoming Halo TV series with Microsoft and 343 Industries.