Reader Player One: 10 Biggest Changes From The Book
7. I-R0k Doesn't Know Parzival And Aech
On occasion, adapting a text to the screen means making significant changes to some characters. Often those most changed will be relatively minor supporting players, whose overall journey is of less significance to the outcome of the story than that of the core protagonists.
One such character in Ready Player One is I-R0k. In the novel, he isn't of much importance; a small-time gunter but big-time poser, he's part of Parzival and Aech's social circle, though neither of them hold him in high regard.
Initially a minor antagonist, I-R0k takes on a more villainous role midway, when - following Parzival and Aech's progression on the OASIS scoreboard - he threatens to expose their personal information online unless they tell him how to get the Copper Key. It's likely, then, that I-R0k has a role to play in IOI tracking down Wade in the real world.
The movie keeps the essential aspects - I-R0k is a moron, and he helps IOI find Wade - but everything else is changed. As portrayed by TJ Miller, I-R0k is a self-styled OASIS bounty hunter directly employed by IOI chief Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), and he doesn't know Parzival or Aech at all.
While he's primarily there for comic relief, I-R0k still succeeds in leading IOI to Wade, and has a part to play in the explosive final showdown.
As well as beefing up I-R0k to full-blown bad guy, the film introduces another villain in Sorrento's right-hand woman F'Nale (Hannah John-Kamen), an all-new character who doesn't appear in the novel.