We last reported on screenwriter/novelist Ernest Cline's Ready Player One almost exactly four years ago when the hot property ignited a bidding war from major studios.  Warner Bros. eventually won that war, and have now hired screenwriter Zak Penn (The Avengers) to rewrite the script for the futuristic tale that follows a virtual game player in his dangerous quest for a deceased billionaire's fortune.  Cline, himself the screenwriter of the 2009 film Fanboys, took the first crack at adapting Ready Player One along with Eric Eason (A Better Life).  Donald De Line and Dan Farah will produce for WB.  Hit the jump for more.

As The Wrap reports, screenwriter Penn will come on board WB's Ready Player One adaptation in the role of a closer.  He'll polish the script to the point that it's ready for producers to shop it to high-profile directors this fall.  As a side note, Penn and Cline have developed an interesting friendship of late, one that led them to unearth Atari's abandoned E.T. game cartridges.  Weird.  Regardless, Ready Player One has been on my reading list for a very long time, so it's encouraging to see some movement on its development.

Here's the official description of the Ready Player One novel, via Amazon:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.