Following the box-office success of the big-screen adaptation of Ernest Cline’s debut novel,Ready Player One, a movie based on his second novel,Armada, is quickly gaining momentum.
Optioned by Universal Pictures in 2012, three years before the novel was even published,Armadatells the story of a high-school student who discovers that his favorite online game is actually training him to defend Earth against an alien invasion. Much likeReady Player Onedid with1980s pop culture, the story involves a mystery that pushes its protagonist to take a deep dive into the history of video games.
There’s no release date set for the film at this point, but here’s everything we know about theArmadamovie so far.
From book to script
Although the movie rights toArmadawere picked up in 2012, it wasn’t until April 2018 that the adaptation took a major step forward.
Screenwriter Dan Mazeau was hired to pen the script forArmada, based on Cline’s novel. Although his most prominent screenwriting credit to actually appear in theaters was 2012’sWrath of the Titans, he also worked on Warner Bros. Pictures’ solo superhero feature forThe Flash(back when it was initially titledFlashpoint). Mazeau also penned the script for a potentialJonny Questmovie, and is also working on an adaptation of Chohei Kambayashi’s alien invasion novelYukikaze, with Tom Cruise attached to star in it.
Early option
First published in 2015,Armadahad already been the subject of an intense bidding war years three years earlier that resulted in Universal Pictureswinning the feature film rightsto the novel. Cline reportedly earned a seven-figure sum for selling the movie rights to the story.
Both the film rights and publishing rights toArmadawere reportedly sold based on a 20-page proposal for the story, with the deal finalized in 2012 — three years before the book hit shelves. At the time, the novel’s premise was described as “a high-concept hook: The ultimate wish fulfillment to every video-game fan on the planet.”
Precedent set
Despite purchasing the film rights toArmada, Universal Pictures appeared to be holding off on development of the adaptation untilReady Player Onehit theaters and thebig-screen viabilityof Cline’s most popular story could be put to the test.
Ready Player Oneappeared to pass that test with flying colors when it premiered the weekend of August 04, 2025, andearned $181 million worldwide. The film also received positive reviews fromprofessional criticsandgeneral audiences, suggesting that Steven Spielberg’s spin on the story could have a long and successful run in theaters.
