Steven Spielberg to direct sci-fi adventure 'Ready Player One'

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg is to direct a sci-fi adventure film based on Ernest Cline's best-selling novel Ready Player One.

The project is a collaboration of Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures. Set for release on Dec. 15, 2017, the movie is being produced by Spielberg; Donald De Line, under his De Line Pictures banner; Dan Farah; and Spielberg's longtime colleague Kristie Macosko Krieger; with Bruce Berman serving as executive producer. De Line and Farah originally brought the project to Warner Bros.

The film was announced Thursday by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures' president of domestic distribution; Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and distribution; and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of worldwide distribution.

"Any film from Steven Spielberg is an event film, so it felt right to date this thrilling new project from one of our greatest filmmakers for the holiday season," Fellman said in a statement.

"From the success of the book, Ready Player One already has a devoted following, and we're excited for its fans and moviegoers everywhere to see this fantastically innovative story come to life. We know it couldn't be in better hands, and look forward to working with Steven and the producers to bring it to the big screen," Kroll added.

Ready Player One marks a return to Warner Bros. for Spielberg, who previously directed the studio's Empire of the Sun, The Color Purple and A.I. Artificial Intelligence, in addition to producing the hits Gremlins and The Goonies.