If you don’t already know who Ben Mendelsohn is, now is a good time as any to get acquainted with his work. He earned a much deserved Emmy nomination for his work as the complex Danny Rayburn in the Netflix series hit Bloodline. He is set to appear in the Gareth Edwards-directed film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is the first of the planned spinoffs Disney has in store for the franchise.

Now it is being reported that the actor is gearing up for another sci-fi film. According to a new report, Mendelsohn is in talks to play the antagonist in Steven Spielberg‘s adaptation of Ernest Cline‘s Ready Player One. More on the story below.

THR who was the first to break the news says that Mendelsohn is in talks to play an executive for an Internet corporation that has designs on OASIS, the digital setting for the film adaptation. If talks are successful, Mendelsohn would join Olivia Cooke (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, The Signal).

Though Mendelsohn has been acting since 1984, he has become a household name with terrific performances in Bloodlines, and his role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is as much of a secret as Kylo Ren’s was during the marketing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Mendelsohn’s other credits include A Place Beyond The Pines, Slow West, The Dark Knight Rises, and Killing Them Softly.

For those who are unfamiliar with Cline’s novel, Ready Player One centers on Wade, a poor orphan who often jacks himself into the digital world known as OASIS. Its creator left behind an Easter Egg hidden amongst impossible-to-solve puzzles that are inspired by pop culture references of past decades. Anyone who solves these puzzles and finds the Easter Egg will massive power and fortune. So when Wade is able to unlock the first puzzle, he finds himself a target of other players who are also hunting for the elusive Easter Egg, including an official from a large industry who has made it a priority to find the Easter Egg at any cost.

Warner Bros. hasn’t commented on the casting, based on the character description, many have speculated that if Mendelson does sign on he would be playing Sorrento, who is described as a high-ranking official of an Internet corporation that hopes to take over and monetize the OASIS.

Cooke will play Sam, an ally and love interest to Wade, whose name in the virtual world is Art3mis.

There is still no word on who will play the lead character.

Ready Player One is scheduled to be released on December 15, 2017.

[Source: THR]