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Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” Set In Columbus

Columbus is central to Steven Spielberg’s latest blockbuster, Ready Player One.

via Facebook

Based on the 2011 novel by Ernest Cline, this sci-fi flick is set in Columbus in 2045. In the fictional world created by Cline, the city is eventually home to the main character, Wade Watts (played by Tye Sheridan). It also hosts the headquarters of Innovative Online Industries (IOI), a company that controls a virtual reality world. Watts lives in an impoverished neighborhood called The Stacks, and in the first moments of the trailer, he mentions that “Columbus is still one of the fastest growing cities.”

The Stacks in Ready Player One via The SDCC Trailer

Although the movie is set here, it was actually filmed in England. Cline, who worked in Columbus for CompuServe in the 1990s, has used Ohio before in his writing. In his screenplay for the 2009 sci-fi inspired comedy, Fanboys, a group of friends from Ohio set out on a cross-country trek to infiltrate Skywalker Ranch.

People all over Columbus were excited to share the trailer that mentions our fair city.

With several other major motion pictures being filmed in the city in the last few years, many Columbusites wanted the production to come here. But as Cline says in his novel,

“No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful.”

A majority of Ready Player One takes place in Columbus, with notable locations being Columbus North High School, Broad St. and High St. From what we’ve seen in the trailer, there aren’t any recognizable sights just yet, but with Speilberg’s attention to detail, fans are hoping that there will be.

Watch the trailer for Ready Player One below.

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