New 'Ready Player One' trailer, dissected shot by shot
Iron Giant! Freddy Krueger! Duke Nukem! Check out all the pop culture references shown in the "Ready Player One" trailer. Movie hits theaters on March 30, 2018.
OASIS awaits
In "Ready Player One," teenager Wade Watts (played by Tye Sheridan) enters the fantastical, digital realm of the OASIS -- a massive multiplayer online simulation game chock full of pop culture references and characters.
Welcome to the Stacks
The movie is set in 2044, when everyone escapes the drudgery of living in Earth's decayed cities by using a virtual-reality simulator to enter a digital realm called OASIS. Here's a look at where Wade lives -- in a slum area of RVs and trailer homes called the Stacks.
Bumping into pop culture characters
In the digital realm, Wade goes by the name Parzival (think of Percival, a knight of the round table). Here he's walking past the DC Comics characters Harley Quinn and Deadshot as he enters a neon purple nightclub.
Dancing like you just don't care
All the floating dancers in this nightclub scene happen to be famous characters from various movies. Can you spot Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings" dancing away?
Oh hai, Iron Giant!
The Iron Giant (from the movie of the same name) is in the trailer to replace Ultraman from the book plot in "Ready Player One." He seems to fit in the trailer just fine.
Go back in time!
Yes, that is the DeLorean from "Back to the Future" speeding around the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park in the OASIS version of New York City. As part of the movie, there's an exciting race that the players participate in as they search for clues to a puzzle. The winning prize is ownership of OASIS.
Who is that Caped Crusader?
Sadly, that's not Batman in the trailer. But the giant scorpion he's riding sure is impressive. This appears to be a battle from the 1982 video game Joust. And are those giant ostriches flying around too?
Horror legends join the battle
Not only is "Nightmare on Elm Street" villain Freddy Krueger in this trailer, but if you look closely you'll also see video game character Duke Nukem.
Now that's a battle grin
Another one of the film's characters is Aech (voiced by Lena Waithe) proving that the players don't have to look like their OASIS personas in real life.
Sixers suit up
The Sixers are professional players hired by the company by IOI and its leader Nolan Sorrento who want to win the game to claim OASIS as the prize, then charge a high entrance fee to anyone who wants to use the virtual world in the future.
Sixers' avatars in OASIS
The Sixers look even more intimidating as their virtual selves in OASIS.
To your cars!
In the giant Easter egg hunt that Parzival and his friends are in, there are plenty of battles and races to get to clues. Look closely and you can see Lara Croft leaning on the Christine car while talking to Dizzy Wallin from the Gears of War video game.
Rev your engines
Cars aren't the only vehicles in this race for clues. Here we see a motorcycle.
Green means go!
In the reflection of this green traffic light we see even more cars in the race, with the Statue of Liberty looking down at them.
Mad Max's sweet ride
While this trailer goes extremely fast, we can still spot the Ford Falcon from the 1979 movie "Mad Max."
American flag in the wind
Even the Bigfoot monster truck from the 1980s -- complete with an American flag waving proudly from its antenna -- gets a cameo.
Akira's motorcycle gets a shout out
Here's a close-up of the red motorcycle from the 1988 anime film "Akira." Art3mis (played by Olivia Cooke) is riding it with great skill.
There's a wrecking ball, but no Miley Cyrus
You can't have a dangerous car race without a few wrecking balls added to the mix. But can the DeLorean outrace it?
Wade in real life
We covet Wade's VR setup if this is the kind of graphics we'll be seeing in "Ready Player One."
Unlock the fun
Behold the crystal key that unlocks ownership to OASIS. Here's hoping Wade gets there before the Sixers do.