This is the movie we’ve all been waiting for. If you’re a child of the 80s or 90s, Ready, Player One is going to bring you on one heck of a memory lane roller-coaster, with music, video games and movies that shaped your childhood and teenage years. The movie is set in the future, where the real world is desolate and people turn to the world of virtual reality to lose themselves and also oddly, to find themselves.
However, this virtual paradise, aptly named The Oasis, may be under threat. The creator of this massive world had died, and before he passed on, he planted a giant Easter egg in the game, and whoever who completes three quests will find the egg, and basically owns The Oasis. A giant corporation with ill intentions is hell-bent on finding the Easter egg, but our band of heroes will strive to find it first. Ready, Player One is a movie that will evoke a sense of wonder and nostalgia all rolled into one.
And here’re 10 movie Easter eggs to look out for.
1. The Shining
Word is that an entire sequence of the movie is devoted to one of the greatest horror classics of all time- Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. In the movie, protagonist Parzival (Tye Sheridan) must complete three quests in order to save The Oasis from evil corporation IOI. The Shining plays a pivotal part in one of the quests. And if you want to better appreciate this sequence, we’d recommend you watch The Shining before catching Ready, Player One.
The Shining isn’t the only horror classic that appeared in the movie. Freddy Krueger, from A Nightmare on Elm Street himself, makes an appearance too, as one of the characters in The Oasis.
3. Chucky
Made famous in the 80s as a Good Guy doll coming to life with maniacal intentions, Chucky makes an appearance in Ready, Player One doing what he does best, lunging at someone.
Blink and you’ll miss it, but in a scene at a club where our protagonist Artermis (Olivia Cooke) and Parzival are talking, our favourite archaeologist Lara Croft was just hovering nearby.
Don’t worry, that’s not the end of Miss Croft, she also appears in an epic battle scene where all characters in The Oasis are called upon for help, several familiar characters can be seen running to assist other heroes such as Chun-Li and Tracer.
5. The Iron Giant
Who doesn’t love this classic about a boy who found and befriended a metallic gigantic robot from outer space? In Ready, Player One, The Iron Giant lives! According to director Steven Spielberg himself, “The Iron Giant is a real major player in this story.”
6. King Kong
That iconic scene where Kong climbs to the top of the Empire State building is one that’s etched on moviegoers’ mind. Expect to see that very same scene unfold in virtual reality glory in the movie.
How can a movie filled with nostalgia from the 80s not have one of the definitive movies of that decade? The Delorean from Back to the Future is heavily featured in the movie. Its futuristic design makes it the perfect vehicle in a virtual reality world, don’t you think?
There is a scene near the end of the movie where upon completion of the third quest, a chamber with a pedestal appears with a giant golden Easter egg. And if you ask us, that design on the pedestal looks awfully like the Mortal Kombat.
9. Mad Max
The first quest that Parzival and the rest of the players have to go through is a giant race through virtual New York, and at the start of the race is chock full of cars waiting to get going to win the race. If you have an eagle eye, you’ll spot Mad Max’s car waiting in line.
As one of the major movies of the 21st century, The Lord of the Rings made it into Ready, Player One, with Gandalf seemingly having a good time floating in what looks like a dance club.
Have you seen the trailer of Ready, Player One? How many Easter eggs did you catch?
