Ben Mendelsohn To Play Yet Another Villain, This Time In Steven Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’
We have no reason to believeBen Mendelsohnis anything but lovely in real life, but “menacing” is definitely his default mode in the movies. AndSteven Spielbergwill not be the one to change that. Spielberg is reportedly eyeing Mendelsohn for his ’80s nostalgia-festReady Player One, in which Mendelsohn would play (of course) the villain. If a deal closes, he’ll be the second actor cast afterOlivia Cooke, who plays the female lead. More about the Ready Player One Ben Mendelsohn casting after the jump.
Based on the bestselling novel by Ernest Cline,Ready Player Oneunfolds in a desolate and not-too-distant future. Our protagonist is Wade Watts, a teenager who escapes his crappy reality by spending hours inside a virtual reality universe known as OASIS. When OASIS founder James Halliday dies, he leaves behind a treasure hunt promising his entire multibillion-dollar fortune to the gamer who can find a certain hidden Easter egg.
Wade and the other competitors, including Cooke’s character Sam (a.k.a. Art3mis), throw themselves into ’80s pop culture, which Halliday was known to be obsessed with. But as the search for the egg intensifies, it also becomes more dangerous. For one thing, there’s a giant corporation called IOI which also has its eye on the prize, and will stop at nothing to get it.THRreports that Mendelsohn has an offer to play one of the IOI executives, presumably Nolan Sorrento from the books, with early talks already underway.
Mendelsohn has been working steadily for about 30 years now, but he’s now on the verge of blowing up bigger than ever. Following a couple of breakthrough roles inAnimal Kingdomand Netflix’sBloodline, he was cast in the upcomingStar WarsspinoffRogue One. His other credits includeThe Dark Knight Rises,Killing Them Softly,The Place Beyond the Pines,Exodus: Gods and Kings, and one of our favorite movies of the year,Slow West(in which he gets to don the glorious fur coat you see above).
