Hey, remember the ’80s? Don’t worry, Ernest Cline is here to remind you in case you forgot with a sequel to his novel, Ready Player One called–wait for it–Ready Player Two. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the new book will be hitting shelves on November 24 in North America.
Ready Player One, the novel, was first published back in 2011, but you’ll probably remember it from the more recent movie adaptation helmed by Stephen Speilberg in 2018. The story, which relies almost entirely on nerd culture from the 1980s, follows a boy named Wade Watts who lives in a dystopian future where everyone relies on a massive virtual reality game called The Oasis for the most basic necessities. Being the chosen one (by virtue of his love of, you guessed it, the ’80s) Watts was made to solve a series of DaVinci Code-like puzzles (centered around trivia about the ’80s) hidden within The Oasis to become the sole heir of The Oasis’s creator’s company and fortune. In the process, Watts cyber-stalked and then eventually won over a girl who was also great at ’80s trivia (but less great than Watts himself, of course, was.)
With Watts now in control of the Oasis, it’s unclear what Ready Player Two will actually be about and the details of the plot remain a mystery. Cline began discussing the sequel in vague terms during the press tour for the 2018 movie, explaining that he began work before the movie’s premiere to avoid too much influence. “I was very conscious of wanting to write a sequel to my novel that would please fans of the novel but also could serve as the basis for a fun movie,” he said in a 2018 interview with CinemaBlend. He also confirmed that the book will not be about a contest for control of the Oasis again, but will deal with the same characters in a similar situation.
Who knows, maybe this time around ’90s trivia will be the key. Ready Player Two will hit shelves on November 24.