Would have been awesome to see him on the big screen.
Lose the Game!!!!!!!

Don't think he's gonna be in it.
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I do like Mark Rylance a lot, and I'm sure he'll be fine in the
Ready Player One
movie. But oh, what a swan song it would have been for Wilder, if only he hadn't been sick with Alzheimer's

Yes, the role in RP1 is similar to that of Willy Wonka in that an eccentric reclusive billionaire inventor leaves a puzzle for his followers to solve in order to inherit his fortune. It's sad that the opportunity to cast Wilder in the part came too late, and it will be difficult for Rylance to find a way of portraying the character that doesn't come off as a pale imitation of Wilder's iconic performance. That said, I did feel that Rylance was slyly playing a sad real-life broken-down version of Connery's Bond in Bridge of Spies, so maybe he can find a way of making the part his own while still paying homage to Wilder's Wonka as it's inspiration.

I doubt it was
The BFG
that Spielberg wanted to cast Wilder in. More than likely it was
Ready Player One
, which is about a deceased video game designer who grants his factory to the first player who solves his game. That role would have been tailor-made for Wilder. But I guess after he found out how sick Wilder was, Spielberg gave the role to Mark Rylance instead.

Spielberg apparently tried to get Wilder to appear in BFG but he declined. Seems like he was obsessed with trying towork with the late actor.
Personnel??.thats for a**holes

Now I know why Spielberg didn't cast him. He had Alzheimer's; therefore, he was most likely physically-unable to act in any movie ever again. RIP Mr. Wilder.

I heard that too. In fact, I came to this board to see if those rumors were confirmed or not. I'm with you - I sure hope it's true! This would be great news.