Ernest Cline’s best-selling book Ready Player One will be coming to life on the big screen next year and the first full trailer has arrived!
Steven Spielberg directs the sci-fi action adventure that stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, TJ Miller, Simon Pegg & Mark Rylance. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. During this dark time, the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.
In the trailer, we get to see the beautiful virtual world of the OASIS as Wade attempts to uncover the truth all set to Van Halen’s hit “Jump.” If you’ve read the book, then you know there are a ton of pop culture references and the same can be said for the movie. While the cost of licensing probably prevented all of the favorites in the book from making the leap to the big screen, the trailer does give us a hint at what we can expect with shoutouts to Back To the Future, Iron Giant and more.
Click through the gallery below to see some of the easter eggs. Ready Player One hits theaters March 30, 2018.
1. Madballs
Madballs were popular in the 80s and were toy rubber balls with crazy faces on them much like the Garbage Pail Kids. You can see one of the characters graffitied on the side of a trailer near where Wade lives.
2. Ryu & Famous Cars
What do you do when there’s a massive traffic jam? How about get out of your car and walk. That’s just what “Street Fighter’s” Ryu does as he takes a stroll next to some iconic cars like the 1960s Batmobile, and Speed Racer’s Mach 5.
3. Back to the Future
Another famous car that plays a big part in the trailer is the DeLorean from Back to the Future. If you listen at the end of the trailer, you’ll also hear a snippet of music from that famous movie as well.
4. Deathstroke
The end of Justice League isn’t the only place Deathstroke makes an appearance. The popular DC character also pops up a few times in the Ready Player One trailer.
5. More Street Fighter
Another Street Fighter character that appears is Blanka with his bright orange hair. There are probably a few more familiar faces in this night club scene.
6. Brilliant Minds
Is Halliday, who created the OASIS, bigger than Jobs? Yep, there’s a little shoutout to the one-and-only Steve Jobs.
7. Simon Says
Mark Rylance brings Halliday to life and he’s pretty hip with his Simon game pin.
8. Motorbikes & Wonder Woman
While Wade chooses the DeLorean as his vehicle of choice, Art3mis goes with the iconic red motorbike from the anime Akira. You’ll also notice it’s adorned with stickers containing the Wonder Woman logo & more.
9. Monster Trucks
Another classic vehicle making an appearance is the famous Monster Truck Bigfoot which is piloted by Aech.
10. King Kong
While there were no signs of Godzilla, King Kong did make an appearance perched on top of a building.
11. Battle!
The battle scenes look like they’re going to be pretty epic and we’ll be seeing lots of familiar faces. In this shot we see Battletoads, Ninja Turtles and more.
12. Dance Break
A little Dance Dance Revolution anyone?
13. Why So Serious?
It wouldn’t be a party if the Joker & Harley Quinn didn’t make an appearance.
14. Badass Ladies
In another shot from a battle scene we get to see some kick-ass female video characters on the front line including Chun-Li (Street Fighter), Lara Croft & Tracer (Overwatch).
15. Boomboxes
There’s a closeup of a boombox which ties into this snapshot showing Wade’s Parzival having his Say Anything moment.
16. More Than Meets the Eye
No, it’s not a Transformer but the RX-78 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam gets in on the action.
17. Child’s Play
The first teaser for Ready Player One gave us a glimpse of Freddy Krueger and now another classic horror villain gets the spotlight. Chucky from Child’s Play can kick some serious butt.
18. The Iron Giant
Finally, he was in the first teaser, but the Iron Giant closes out the first full trailer for Ready Player One.
Are you excited for Ready Player One to hit theaters in 2018?
