San Diego Comic-Con is in full swing, and Warner Bros. Pictures definitely brought some big guns to the show. In addition to showing off more DC Comics goodness, Warner Bros. finally released the first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One.
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The Ready Player One trailer provided us with our first glimpse of the movie’s virtual world OASIS, and, somewhat surprisingly, contained a ton of cameos from other franchises. OASIS is supposed to be inspired by the 80s, but the trailer makes reference to stuff from the 70s all the way up to last year.
Before we go on, here’s a rundown of the trailer from ComicBook’s own Joseph Schmidt:
The clip starts with a voice over, “I was born in 2025, but I wish I was born in 1980s, like all my heroes.” It shows him explore his town, which is stacked with trailers and makeshift abodes. He puts on some VR goggles and enters the virtual world, where he battles alongside the Iron Giant.
“Tom Sawyer” by RUSH plays, showing quick battle and driving sequences. A futuristic police force floods the streets. Then it shows a group of people entering VR stations, lowering goggles onto their heads, and entering the virtual world. The footage ends with a closeup of the key entering a slot before cutting to black.
Now, let’s dig a little deeper into some of the Easter eggs and cameos…
Harley Quinn and Deadshot
Almost as soon our main character played by Tye Sheridan enters OASIS we’re treated to our first Easter egg, with Suicide Squad members Harley Quinn and Deadshot strolling by. That doesn’t exactly fit with the movie’s retro theme, Harley is clearly based on the Margot Robbie version, but hey, Ready Player One takes place in 2044, so maybe people are nostalgic for the Suicide Squad movie by then? Maybe some wishful thinking by Warner Bros.
Iron Giant
Been hoping for an Iron Giant sequel? Well, that may never happen, but the character will be showing up in Ready Player One! We get a nice clear shot of the Iron Giant, who appears to be on our hero’s side. Could our old metallic friend actually be a major character, and will Vin Diesel by voicing him again?
Back to the Future DeLorean
The trailer also features a couple shots of what looks very much like the DeLorean made famous by the Back to the Future flicks. A fairly obvious reference given Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment produced Back to the Future. This version of the DeLorean doesn’t seem to be able to travel through time, but who knows — maybe it’s just short a flux capacitor?
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Music
As our hero makes his somewhat trippy entry into OASIS, we hear a slightly remixed instrumental version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory‘s iconic “Pure Imagination” theme song. It’s appropriate, since Ready Player One‘s virtual world is a bit of a wonderland, but it may have a somewhat sinister side as well.
Freddy Krueger
Mid-way through the trailer we see somebody doing battle with several other characters, with one of them unmistakably being Freddy Krueger, claws and all. An actual 80s reference! Mr. Krueger is definitely the perfect villain for a dream-like fantasy world like OASIS.
Duke Nukem?!
This is certainly the strangest reference I was able to catch. In the same scene where we see Freddy, we see this guy in the background – jeans, red shirt, suspenders, blonde flattop – that’s Duke Nukem, isn’t it? Which makes a certain amount of sense, since this is supposed to be a video game world, but of all the video game characters available, why freakin’ Duke Nukem? Maybe he was willing to work for cheap?
I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Ready Player One trailers available online right now aren’t high enough resolution to make out every tiny character lurking in the backgrounds. Obsessive fans will be digging through this one for a while!
Ready Player One was originally slated to be released this December, but was bumped back to avoid competition with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Ready Player One is now scheduled to hit theaters March 30, 2018.
