‘Ready Player One': All the Easter Eggs From the New Trailer (Photos)
Ernest Cline’s sci-fi bestseller “Ready Player One” is less a novel and more a love letter to the 1980s wrapped around a plot. Easter eggs and pop culture references abound throughout the novel, and Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster adaptation appears to have ripped a couple of pages from the book. Here are all the easter eggs we were able to spot in the new trailer.
Remember Madballs? No? You may not be alone, but these rubber bouncing balls were pretty popular in the 1980s and well into the next decade. As the audience is treated to a look at how crummy and bleak the world has become, we see that a graffiti artist has tagged the side of a trailer with one of these weird-looking objects.
There’s definitely a huge race coming up in the film, judging by the sheer number of cars, bikes, and other vehicles. Among the ones we’ve been able to spot include Mach 5 from “Speed Racer” and the original Batmobile from the “Batman” TV series, as well as Ryu from the “Street Fighter” video games. Some have even claimed to spot Mad Max’s Interceptor from “Fury Road.”
Protagonist Wade Watts, aka Parzival (Tye Sheridan), will participate in the aforementioned race by driving the DeLorean from “Back to the Future.” Fans were caught off guard with the brief glimpse of the iconic vehicle in the original trailer, and now it feels like it’s getting the attention it deserves.
During the race, King Kong looks to make an appearance, perched atop his own Empire State Building with biplanes circling overhead.
In the “we need to let the audience know what a big deal this is” section of the trailer, we see a newspaper that references “Oasis Coin,” a clear reference to Bitcoin.
As we get our first good look at Parzival’s competitor/love interest, Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), we’re treated to a cameo appearance by Commander Shepard from “Mass Effect” and Blanka from “Street Fighter” (nope, we’re not done with those yet).
Heck, there’s too much going on in this shot for just one slide: on the other side of the screen, a bartender wearing a Devo hat is seen to be taking an order from Lara Croft (we’re not done with her yet, either).
Fans were quick to notice Harley Quinn in the Comic-Con trailer, and now we’ve gotten a look at this rather dapper version of her beau, the Clown Prince of Crime.
One of the classic vintage relics of the era that “RP1” cherishes, the boombox also calls to mind a certain movie…
Here’s Parzival, pulling a full John Cusack from “Say Anything…” as DC supervillain Deadshot and Sagat from “Street Fighter” help lead the charge into the final battle between Oasis users and the sinister IOI corporation.
As part of the final battle, we can make out the early 1990s video game characters Battletoads, as well as a flying ostrich from the arcade game “Joust.”
This battle is going to be massive. In this one shot, we can make out Tracer from “Overwatch,” Chun-Li from “Street Fighter,” FemShep from “Mass Effect” and Lara Croft.
No, you were not imagining things. You really did see 1980s horror villain Chucky pulling a full-on, CGI Yoda and kicking some serious butt in the process.
One of the most popular franchises in Japan, “Gundam” plays a pivotal role in Cline’s book, and we’re happy to see that Spielberg kept the giant hero robot.
Arguably the biggest shocker from the Comic-Con trailer was the inclusion of Iron Giant. Nobody saw him coming. Spielberg was quick to point out that the robot was not just to make fans feel good, but he would be an important part of the story. Here he is now, diving headlong into the final battle.
Just when you think you’ve had all you can handle, Spielberg and company throw you one last treat: the instantly recognizable musical twinkle from “Back to the Future.” March 30 can not come soon enough.
