READY PLAYER ONE Writer Zak Penn is Set to Take on ROM For Hasbro and Paramount

Hasbro's Allspark Pictures and Paramount Pictures is ready to move forward with their big screen adaptation of ROM! They just hired Zak Penn to write the script, who most recently worked on Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One. He also previously wrote The Avengers. X-Men 2, and The Incredible Hulk.

ROM stands for Read-Only-Memory, it originated as a toy which spawned a comic called ROM: Spaceknight. "Hailing from a utopian society on the planet Galador, ROM is a cyborg who, after defeating the invading Dire Wraith on its planet, continues the battle on Earth and other planets."

We know that Paramount is currently looking to develop a whole Hasbro cinematic universe with these Hasbro properties, which also includes G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., Visionaries and more. James Gunn talked about his love for the character ROM and would have like to bring him into the MCU, but obviously, that's not going to happen. However, they could use the lore of the Spaceknights if they wanted to. 

Penn seems like the kind of fanboy writer that would be perfect for a project like this. I like most of his past work, and I think he could write a solid script for ROM. According to Deadline, he is "a true fan of Hasbro’s brands, and has always loved the property."

Penn is also currently working on the script for Warner Bros. Matrix revival, which he talked about recently and how he's looking to expand on the universe instead of reboot it.

I'm just hoping that Hasbro and Paramount end up doing great things with their upcoming films. There's a lot of potential for them to be great. As for ROM, it could end up being an incredibly fun film! Hopefully, the studio is able to land a decent director.