According to The Hollywood Reporter, Olivia Cooke (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl) has been picked for the female lead in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One. It doesn’t sound like this is officially official yet—as Spielberg hasn’t confirmed anything—but THR seems confident that the ink will dry soon. Spielberg was reportedly hoping to cast the male and female leads at the same time, but Cooke was such an early favorite for the role that he decided to scrap that plan and hire her when he had the chance (meaning the role of the heroic nerd protagonist remains unfilled).
Ready Player One takes place in a futuristic society where everyone hangs out in a virtual world called Oasis in which ‘80s references are as valuable as gold, and the main guy, Wade Watts, is The Best at ‘80s references. Cooke’s character, Samantha Cook (hey, that’s weird), is his love interest and main rival in the story. THR also notes that Cooke is “on the shortlist” for one of the upcoming Star Wars movies, so she’s one Marvel Cinematic Universe movie short of a bingo.