Ready Player One: Steven Spielberg joins Simon Pegg and Olivia Cooke on the red carpet in London

Steven Spielberg talked about his upcoming film Ready Player One’s place in the modern world as he joined stars including Simon Pegg and Olivia Cooke on the blue carpet in London.

Stars descended on a cold Leicester Square on Monday evening for the European premiere of the fantasy thriller, set to be released at the end of the month.

Opening up about the futuristic feel of the film, Spielberg, said: “Getting involved in a world happens whenever we look down at our devices.

“Even when we’re texting or going on Instagram or Snapchat, we are involved in a world that takes us out of reality.

“This simply is when virtual reality steps into the conversation and we found a super drug that's going to be very hard to break.”

The critically-acclaimed director, who was crowned Legend Of Our Lifetime at the EMPIRE awards, wrapped up warm on the carpet as he chatted to ITV London about the action-packed film and urged people to see it on the big screen.

Of his most recent accolade, the 71-year-old said: “I don’t feel anything like a legend.

“When I went to the awards, I went past an advertisement for the new McDonald's Chicken Legend sandwich and I was all chuffed up until I saw the advert. The word legend has been used a lot nowadays!”

Spielberg also spoke about the Time’s Up movement, explaining that it is how to “control power and put an awareness to those in power about how not to abuse that power in the workplace”.

He added that the movement isn’t just about the glamorous showbiz industry but provides legal aid all over.

The film also stars Pegg and Cooke with Hannah John-Kamen, Tye Sheridan, and Ben Mendelsohn also in the cast.

Ready Player One will be released in cinemas on March 30.