Steven Spielberg Reportedly Trying to Lure Gene Wilder Out of Retirement For Upcoming Film

AICN has a very interesting report that states that Steven Spielberg is attempting to lure legendary actor Gene Wilder out of retirement to appear in one of The Beard's upcoming movies. While the specific role he's being offered is still a mystery, AICN's sources suggest a couple of different options.

First, Spielberg is working on The BFG, an adaptation of a Roald Dahl novel that will feature a mixture of live-action and CG characters. Practically speaking, this might be the best option for the 82-year-old Wilder, who hasn't appeared in a television part since 2003 or a film role since 1999. He could simply go into a recording studio and provide his voice as one of the CG characters.

While working on The BFG makes sense considering the Roald Dahl connection — one of Wilder's most famous roles is that of Willy Wonka, also from a Dahl adaptation — there's another option on the table that's a little less subtle. Spielberg is also attached to an adaptation of Ernie Cline's sci-fi novel Ready Player One, and in that story, there's a man named James Halliday who is the creator of the virtual reality world in which the film takes place. He dies early on, leaving players with the promise that whoever discovers the easter egg at the end of the game will take over his estate, including the VR world. It's a very obvious reference to Willy Wonka, and Spielberg could be going out to Wilder in the hopes that he'll play this part.

I have to hope Wilder wouldn't come out of retirement just to essentially play a lesser version of one of his iconic characters, so I'd much rather him show up in The BFG in some capacity. If Ready Player One actually featured the specific character of Willy Wonka, then I could maybe see Wilder maybe coming back to reprise the role, but from the outside looking in, that casting just seems a little too self-referential. What do you think?