"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" actor Simon Pegg is in negotiations to join the cast of Steven Spielberg's sci-fi film "Ready Player One".
Actor Tye Sheridan leads a cast that includes Olivia Cooke and Ben Mendelsohn in the story, which is set in a virtual world called Oasis, in which a teenager (Sheridan) finds himself competing in a treasure hunt against ruthless foes after the game's founder dies and offers his fortune as the grand prize.
Pegg is being eyed to play Orgen Morrow, the co-creator of Oasis, reports hollywoodreporter.com.
Warner Bros and Village Roadshow are behind the movie, which adapts the best-selling sci-fi novel by Ernest Cline and is in the midst of casting as it heads towards a June start.
"Ready Player One" is being produced by Spielberg via his Amblin Partners banner, along with Donald De Line, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Dan Farah.