By Ben Travis | Posted 19 Feb 2018

It’s just over a month until Ready Player One hits the big screen, and it’s exciting for multiple reasons — it’s Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited return to all-out blockbuster territory, it steps into a new frontier of virtual reality-infused filmmaking, and it’s set to be perhaps the most densely packed meta pop culture adventure ever.

While much of the film takes place in the Oasis, a virtual reality world where bored and disenfranchised gamers spend most of their time, it also presents a physical world in its futuristic version of Ohio in 2045 — and Empire has some exclusive pictures of just that. First up is a shot of Spielberg on set directing Ben Mendelsohn as Nolan Sorrento, the vicious, power-grabbing corporate villain who wants to take control of the Oasis.

Next up is a look at the creators of the Oasis in a scene likely to be a flashback — Mark Rylance, Spielberg’s latest muse, dons a shaggy wig to play the Steve Jobs-meets-Willy Wonka uber-geek James Halliday, while Simon Pegg plays his former business partner Ogden Morrow.

Read more about Ready Player One’s geek odyssey in the new Empire, a Spielberg Takeover issue with editorial input from the man himself, which hits shelves on Thursday 22 February.

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