|
A river of words flowed between us. |
| " | Do you want the long version? Your guys suck. They failed to kill his avatar, which if we're offering constructive criticism, was a lame idea and only would have slowed him down. Whereas my plan which was cool because "I-R0k", actually worked. (Sorrento: He's still on the board!) I know that, Nolan. But he won't be for long. I did a search for al the Wades who had recently bought an X1 Bootsuit, cross-referenced that with public records, and voila, which is French for... "And then I found out." Ready? The real-world identity of Parzival is Wade Watts (Sorrento: Voila) | " |
–I-R0k informs Sorrento about Parzival's real-world identity
| ||
Ready Player One is a 2018 American science fiction adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline's 2011 novel of the same name. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance.
The film takes place in the year 2045, when much of humanity uses the virtual reality software dubbed The OASIS to escape the desolation of the real world. When it's creator, James Halliday, passed away, a contest was announced to decide who would inherit full ownership of The OASIS and orphaned teenager, Wade Watts (Sheridan), embarks on an epic quest with several allies to uncover all the clues and win the contest before it falls into the hands of evil technology tycoon, Nolan Sorrento (Mendelsohn).
Ready Player One premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2018, was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on March 29, 2018, in 2D, Real D 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D. It has grossed $581 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2018. The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its visuals, brisk pacing, and Rylance's performance. The film was noted to have significant differences from the book, with some critics calling the film's plot an improvement over the source material.
Plot
The curtain rolls up to unveil the home, of our hero, 17-year-old Wade: The Stacks of Columbus, Ohio (a complex of makeshift apartment towers built from scattered resources and derelict trailer homes). As he climbs down from his "apartment" and passes by the many people lost in their virtual reality experiences on route to his destination, he starts the story by narrating the basic elements; he is a bespectacled teenage orphan living in the year is 2045 (born in 2027) and due to various geopolitical events, many of Earth's cities have become slums because the people having ceased effort in fixing problems and instead now try to outlive them. When Wade reaches his destination, a secret sanctum built out of a pile of wrecked cars, he explains that Columbus is the fastest-growing city on Earth for it being the birthplace of Gregarious Games, one of the biggest companies on Earth founded by James Halliday and Ogdon Morrow. These days, people escape their less-than-optimal lives through Halliday's greatest masterpiece and triumph; the virtual reality universe called the Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation (OASIS for short). Wade logs onto the OASIS from a nearby cargo van hidden within the car pile and explains the OASIS is the haven people retreat to because it's a universe where the limits of reality are one's own imagination. People are drawn to the OASIS because of everything it has to offer, but they stay because of what/who they can be. There are challenges to undertake, experiences to endure, culture of all kinds to experience, and because the entire world spends most of their time in the OASIS, it's where they interact with each other, and the only way people make friends these days. Wade makes his point by explaining that people's avatars come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and manifestations, and introduces his: Parzival, after the knight who found the holy grail all on his own. He finds his online friend Aech, a tall, muscular, cyborg who works as a virtual mechanic, in sector 12 of Planet Doom, the most dangerous place in the OASIS where warriors like him collect coin, the currency of the OASIS, through cutthroat battle royals and artifact hunts. Aech is in the middle of deflating the first-person shooter competition alongside two of their other friends, Daito and Sho, when Wade reminds him of a race the two of them are looking forward to participating in. Aech explains that the last one standing in this challenge will win the Gregarious 120, a gauntlet that will allow it's wielder to transform into any giant robot for 2 minutes, opening the floodgate for Wade to explain the concept of artifacts. Halliday personally saw to it that the OASIS was littered with enough randomly powerful things that anybody could win if they have what it takes to brave the challenges. However, depending on the durability of one's defenses as well as the reliability of their weapons, they're risky. If an avatar zeroes out (dies), the player can respawn just fine, but their character progress will be completely wiped, meaning everything they've ever collected and worked for in the OASIS will be lost and they will have no choice but to rebuild from Square One. Wade reminds Aech of the race starting in 10 minutes and goes on to explain that the OASIS is the life's work of multi-trillion-dollar multi-media tycoon, James Halliday. Him and his partner Ogdon Morrow released the first OASIS built in 2025 and proved an instant success that made them both filthy rich. Morrow was out of the picture after a few years while Halliday went on to become, in essence, a king and a god to his audience. He passed away on January 7th, 2040, but the contingency plan and the legacy he left behind changed everything. In the form of his avatar, Anorak the All-Knowing, he announced that he created an Easter Egg, a powerful and fabled artifact, that he hid somewhere in the OASIS and will win full ownership and control of OASIS as well as the fame and fortune Halliday left behind to whomever finds it. The only way to do that is by finding the 3 keys to 3 magic gates protected by impossible challenges that will test the worthiness and virtue of those who would seek them and can only be conquered by a true master of the OASIS. With that, he initiated the skill contest that will decide the fate of the OASIS.
5 years have passed and nobody has even come close to securing one of the keys. A forgotten Gunter solved the first riddle and opened the literal portal to the first of the 3 challenges - a vehicle race designed by Halliday across ever-shifting roadways in Manhattan that nobody has ever been able to conquer. These days, the players who are still trying are called “Gunters (Egg Hunters)” such as Parzival, Aech, Daito, and Sho, and the video game conglomerate Innovative Online Industries (IOI). They employ an army of top gamers called “Sixers (as per the company rule: No names, just numbers)” who operate as foot soldiers in the OASIS, a support team made up of Halliday scholars who spend all their time researching everything Halliday was obsessed with to find clues to winning the challenges, and indentured servants who work as virtual slave labor to pay off the dept they’ve amassed from IOI. Their leader is the infamous Nolan Sorrento, who has made winning Halliday’s contest their top priority so that his company will graduate from the second biggest in the world to the first.
Parzival and Aech arrive at the race just in time. Aech saves Parzival a front-row spot but must retreat to dead last due to his vehicle's low fuel supply (he can exchange the coin snatched from fallen racers as fuel). Parzival readies his vehicle, the Flying DeLorean from Back to the Future, and the race starts. Among the instant carnage, he sees a well-known Gunter who he idolizes named Art3mis, AKA the "Sixer Fixer", weaving past the obstacles on Kaneda's bike from Akira. Parzival reaches the home stretch before anyone else, but stops just short of King Kong, who destroys the track and is poised to strike. Though still unable to cross the finish line at Central Park, he is able to protect Art3mis from being zeroed out by King Kong, who is proven the race to be pointless when Kong crushes her bike. They become friends when Parzival tells her Aech can fix it.
They meet up at Aech's workshop and Art3mis is instantly at awe with Aech's exact replica of the Iron Giant. Parzival tells her that Aech is top-rated on the mod boards and makes boku bucks for commissions, such as that very same Iron Giant replica. Parzival goofs around by showing her Aech's spaceship collection and while Aech works to fix her bike (which he estimates will be ready in 10 minutes), the two of them test each other's scholarly knowledge of Halliday as well as question their motives for the contest. Neither of them have any interest in clanning up and Parzival says that he can't afford to zero out. Art3mis in turn reveals that a real gunter would risk everything to protect the OASIS from IOI. When she logs out, Wade has to do the same when he hears someone calling his name. He returns to his unit in the stacks only to be met with hostility from Rick, his aunt Alice's abusive boyfriend, for borrowing her haptic gloves behind her back. Rick then reveals he zeroed out for using Wade's own faulty gloves after blowing all of their house money on power-ups he specifically needed for the death match, saying the artifact offered up to the winner was going to pay for the house. Alice gets him under control, but orders Wade to never touch her stuff again. That's when Wade reveals to the audience his full real name is Wade Watts, given by his late father for it sounding like a superhero's secret identity, like "Peter Parker" or "Bruce Banner". Both him and his mother perished when he was very young and he's been living with his aunt Alice and her endless chain of lousy love interests in the stacks ever since. Later that night, Wade ponders something Art3mis said before in the workshop: “Halliday hated making rules”, and wonders if it contains a clue he could never see before.
Parzival looks for the clue to the puzzle at Anorak's virtual archives containing video clips reconstructing Halliday's life called “The Halliday Journals”. The snarky and snooty Currator walks him through the archives and takes him to a clip from a Gregarious Games office party dating back to 2029. There, he sees Halliday and Morrow arguing about things can’t stay the way they are forever while Halliday is adamant to his belief that things are perfect the way they are. Morrow tells him that his greatest creation comes with responsibilities he didn’t ask for and that he needs to set limits. This is where Halliday declares his belief that he’s a dreamer who doesn’t want to make any more rules and build worlds where the only rules are defined by one’s own imagination. Their conversation reaches a point where Morrow tells Halliday that the OASIS has evolved from more than just a game and Halliday has to move forward with it. Just when it looks like there’s nothing of value, Parzival hears Halliday wishing he could "go backwards for once as fast as he can and really put the pedal to the metal.” Overwhelmed with insight, he takes the quote to heart at the next race.
On the next race, Parzival realizes the quote is the clue that is the key to winning the race. As everyone drives forward when it starts, he goes full reverse and uncovers an underground passageway to bypass the obstacles, revealing the unwinnable racetrack on the surface was always a diversion from the real route to the finish line. Parzival finally reaches Central Park and Anorak the All-knowing awards him with the first of the 3 keys: the Copper Key. With that, he appears on the global scoreboard.
IOI catches wind of Parzival’s victory and are desperate to figure out how since, according to Sorrento, winning Halliday’s contest is nothing short of a war for control over the future. However, he’s not worried given the fact that IOI is a literal army while Parzival works alone. While he still only has the first of the 3 keys, they still have the advantage. Plus, unlike Parzival, they still have the advantage of money earned from virtual reality hardware they sell combined with the revenue gained from the Loyalty Centers where the Indentured Servants work off their debts. If they win the contest, Sorrento plans on initiating Pure 02, a series of intrusive advertising for all the power ups they can sell after rolling back some of Halliday’s add restrictions, which they estimate would increase their profits by 80%.
Meanwhile, Aech joins Parzival on a trip to Avatar Outfitters, a department store in the OASIS where players go to shop for skins, armor, weapons, gadgets, and accessories. Parzival won 100,000 coins when he won the copper key, so he is now looking to up his arsenal. They pass by a doomsday weapon up for auction called the Catalyst, a hand grenade that supposedly vaporizes every avatar on a planet, including the owner. IOI presently has the winning bid for that, so they move on. However, he seals the deal on the Holy Hand Grenade for 20,000 and a Zumekis Cube. With his arsenal upgraded, the piece de resistance of his shopping spree is the X1 Haptic Bootsuit guaranteed to optimize a player’s OASIS experience exponentially. He orders it for real-world pickup and it arrives in his secret sanctum, much to his awe.
Sorrento consults i-R0k, an OASIS mercenary of whom Sorrento is the best customer of, for the goods regarding a mission he recently asked him to undertake. He has vanquished the steampunk pirate king to obtain a Level 99 artifact known as the Orb of Osuvox, capable of manifesting an impenetrable magic shield that can only be taken down with a magic spell. Sorrento entrusts i-R0k with the artifact for safekeeping until the time for its use comes and comes to him with a new mission - finding Parzival and taking him out for 3 times his normal fee.
In light of Parzival’s recent victory, his friends join him on the scoreboard. Art3mis followed Parzival’s lead when she saw him drive backwards, Parzival gave Aech a tip and made him swear to secrecy, only for him to brag to Daito and win next. Daito then passes the secret to his wingman, Sho, and wins next. With the 5 of them now in the lead for Halliday’s contest, they appear atop the global scoreboard as the "High Five". With the copper key acquired, they’re also awarded with scrolls detailing a riddle leading to the next key: “A creator who hates his own creation. A hidden key, a leap not taken. Retrace your steps, escape your past, and the key of jade will be yours at last.” Wade takes a look at some of the Halliday research he’s collected in his sanctum, such as photos and newspaper articles, and suspects the clue must lie within Ogden Morrow’s late wife, Kira Underwood.
At the Halliday Journals, Parzival is swarmed by avatars due to him being the first to make an actual dent in Halliday’s contest until he is pulled into a secret hiding place by Goro, who reveals himself to be Art3mis in disguise. She tells him that now that’s he’s a celebrity, he’ll need a disguise to avoid attracting attention. She outfits him with a suit and a pair of Clark Kent glasses (they hide your identity without changing your appearance) and they arrive at a journal exhibit dating back to December 2nd, 2025, 6 days before the official release of the OASIS. There, they see Halliday and Morrow, as well as Sorrento, who, at that time, was an intern for Halliday. According to Parzival, Sorrento was able to convince IOI to create the Sixer army because of his Halliday knowledge he obtained from studying at the feet of the master. However, Morrow says the only thing he truly knows about Halliday is how he liked his coffee. Parzival and Art3mis fast forward to a conversation about Halliday’s first date with Underwood. Halliday says she introduced herself as “Kira”, for the character in The Dark Crystal, which Morrow knows is her gaming tag. The two keep watching and Halliday says she wanted to go dancing, but watched a movie instead. Art3mis is shocked to learn that Halliday went on a date with Ogden Morrow’s wife, which Parzival clarifies was years before they were married. The really interesting thing is that because of her death, this journal exhibit is the one and only time her name is mentioned anywhere in the Halliday Journals. Parzival puts that to a wager with all his coin with the Curator. While he researches, Parzival tells Art3mis that while he found the clue to the race in the other scene, he always had a feeling the biggest clue to the race was hidden in this one, mostly for it being the biggest source of emotional tension for Halliday and Morrow alike. As Parzival is adamant to his belief that Kira Underwood is the center of the story the contest represents, the Curator honors their little bet awards him a single quarter. With insight to the second challenge acquired, Art3mis proposes they meet up Thursday night at 10PM atthe OASIS dance club, the Distracted Globe as there is something she wants to show Parzival. She takes off, leaving him stoked that a hot girl basically asked him out on a date.
Parzival cycles through his wardrobe in Aech’s workshop, who is irritated at Parzival’s puppy love for Art3mis. While Parzival cycles through his outfits before eventually landing on Buckaroo Banzai (the suit worn by the character from his favorite movie), Aech worried about Parzival’s judge of character since he shared a major insight to Halliday’s contest with a complete stranger. He warns him of the possibility Art3mis could merely be seducing him to gain an advantage, telling him that he needs to be more careful with who he shares personal connections with in the OASIS. Parzival tells him that he and Art3mis have a connection that poses a sort of je ne sais quoi, which Aech in turn tells him is superficial compared to what the two of them have. To make his point, Aech hypothesizes that for all they know, Art3mis’s player could be “a 300-pound dude who lives in his mama’s basement in suburban Detroit. And her name is Chuck”.
Parzival arrives dressed to kill at the Distracted Globe where he is swarmed by fans looking for a photo-op. Unbeknownst to him, one of them happens to be i-R0k’s informant. Art3mis intercepts him, who is also dressed to kill. Meanwhile i-R0k receives the informant as he arrives and sets up his stakeout in one of the booths. While he spies on Parzival and Art3mis, he gets a call from Sorrento, who he tells he can’t zero out in such a densely populated establishment. For the time being, he uses his long-range radio to eavesdrop on their conversation. Art3mis explains to Parzival the significance of the Distracted Globe - while everybody knows it’s the first club Halliday created in the OASIS, the fascinating thing is he didn’t actually start building it until after the moment Parzival showed her in the Journals. Karen Underwood loved dancing, so Halliday thought he’d show her a virtual dancing experience, but that didn’t work out because he hated dance clubs. By that logic, that fulfills one of the conditions of the riddle - “A creator who hates his own creation.” The next condition, “A leap not taken,” is fulfilled by the zero-gravity abyss people leap into and dance in midair. Parzival has his doubts since people jump off all the time, but Art3mis suspects the outcome will be different since the two of them are the only ones with the Copper Key. To that end, the two of them take a literal leap of faith. They don’t find any evidence of a challenge, so Art3mis suspects it’s some sort of hidden dance challenge. Parzival uses one of his power-ups to create a disco dance floor right where he’s floating and the two of them share a disco inferno with Stayin Alive by Bee Gees. While they still are no closer to finding the second key than when they arrived, they enjoy each other’s company while cutting a rug. While sharing their dance, Parzival proposes they meet up in the real world, but Art3mis tells him he’d be disappointed, reminding him that everything about her is superficial (which is exactly what Aech tried to warn him about). However, Parzival is willing to look past all the superficiality if it means getting to know the real her. In an effort to earn her trust, Parzival disobeys the first rule of the OASIS by confiding in her his real name, which i-R0k overhears from his stakeout spot. Their wholesome moment is gone when Art3mis reminds him of how dangerous it is to trust anybody in the OASIS with his true identity, but Parzival doesn’t care, telling her that he loves her. Things graduate from awkward to dire when the Distracted Globe is raided by an IOI battalion. They ambush Parzival and Art3mis, who have thankfully come prepared with weapons high-level armor. While they take cover, Art3mis tells Parzival that what he’s in love with is only what she wants him to see here from her and nothing more. The two of them make quick work of the IOI soldiers, but Parzival’s armor begins to degrade to critical levels. i-R0k takes aim at Parzival, but only strikes Art3mis, who is unscathed because of her armor level. While she holds him off, Parzival activates one of his new gadgets, the Zumekis Cube, which turns out to be a hand grenade that reverses time by 60 seconds. They use that to cover their getaway and Art3mis chastises Parzival for his reckless abandon. She explains that while the contest may just be a game to him, she’s waging war against IOI, explaining that the fate of the OASIS could be a matter of life and death and there will be dire real-world consequences if IOI wins. She makes her point painfully clear by telling him her father met his demise in a Loyalty Center - he built up debt from the VR equipment he borrowed and moved in to a Loyalty Center to pay if off, but he never did because IOI raised his living expenses and he couldn’t afford to get out when he fell terminally ill. Unable to accept Parzival’s superficiality any longer, she severs all of her ties with him to avoid any distractions to her mission to stop IOI.
In a video conference, i-R0k criticizes Sorrento for his premature tactics in trying to zero out Parzival, which i-R0k says would have only slowed him down. Unlike him, i-R0k patiently waited for the moment to present itself, which it did when he heard Parzival say his real name. To that end, he was able to research all the “Wades” who recently bought an X1 haptic boot suit. After cross-referenced the list with public records, he instantly found Parzival’s true identity: Wade Watts. With that information acquired, Sorrento gives the task of finding Wade in the real world to his hatchet woman, F’Nale Zandor.
Sorrento contacts Wade and they set up a conference in the real world while his Avatar is projected holographically in his office. Sorrento tells him all of the benefits to working at IOI, such as his own state-of-the-art rig, a penthouse apartment in Columbus with optimal internet connectivity, premium upgrades and ships, and a salary of $4,000,000 a year with a bonus of $25,000,000 should he find the Easter Egg. Wade is ecstatic at such an opportunity (which he cleverly hides with emotion-suppressing software), but doesn’t believe Sorrento appreciates the OASIS for what it represents and only sees it as a glorified cash cow. To that end, Wade puts Sorrento’s pop culture knowledge to the test, which he is only able to pass with the aid of his scholarly support team whispering in his earbud. He tries to encourage Wade to be his personal Gunter and reap the rewards that come afterward, but Wade simply tells him that if James Halliday were still alive, he wouldn’t want its fate in hands of someone like Sorrento. Wade is also smart enough to know about the support team advising Sorrento to tell Wade what he wants to hear and outright refuses the offer out of not trusting him to uphold the ideals Halliday created the OASIS for. In retaliation, Sorrento reveals that he knows Wade’s true identity and that he’s going to take him out of the contest by bombing his stack. Wade tries to tell him he’s nowhere near his stack, but has to log out in a hurry when he realizes his aunt Alice is in grave danger. While F’Nale uses drones to rig the stack with explosives, Wade rushes back to his stack trying to reach Alice on the phone. Disastrously, Rick, who has pilfered his new boot suit, picks up her communicator instead. He tries warn him of the attack, but he just tells him to never call her again. Just short of his stack, the bombs detonate and the whole place comes tumbling down, killing Alice and everyone inside in the ensuing explosion. Dejected and crestfallen, Wade returns to his sanctum to inform his friends of IOI’s assassination attempt, warning them that they might come for them. Just then, he’s blindsided by a muscular tattooed man and dragged away.
Wade wakes up in a Gunter hideout, where the tattooed man is revealed to be a fellow IOI rebel working for Art3mis' controller: Samantha Cook. She takes Wade to the roof where they can see IOI Plaza and the stacks, revealing that the two of them were just blocks away from each other all this time. They share a wholesome moment, getting to know each other’s true nature, with Wade confiding in her that she’s not disappointed in her true appearance. Together, they appreciate the wonders of the real world that don’t compare to the OASIS when Samantha has an AH-HA! moment regarding the clue to the second key. She realizes they were taking the riddle too literally and that the leap Halliday regretted not taking with Karen was not kissing her. The place the leap wasn’t taken was the movie date he took her on, and that’s where the next key is hidden.
The High Five assembles in the Halliday Journals and ask the Curator for all of Halliday’s favorite movies from November 23rd-27, 2025 (the week he went on the date with Kira). Among dozens of options, they find The Shining, Halliday’s 11th favorite horror film, which is based on the bestselling book by Steven King, who hated the movie (A creator who hates his own creation). The Curator transports them to an exact recreation of the film and end up in the Overlook Hotel, where they find a typewriter with pictures of keys and a stack of paper decreasing by the second. Daito deduces the pattern as a countdown giving the gang five minutes to find the key. While the gang tries to deduce where that is because of how many keys there are in The Shining, Aech, who has never seen The Shining due to his hatred of horror movies, is lured into the elevator corridor where the Grady Twins are waiting for him. They retreat into the left elevator and he tries to follow them. While Daito and Sho go hunting for the key to room 237, Parzival and Art3mis realize Aech is missing. They find him, but are unable to stop him from getting caught in the tsunami of blood. While Aech is getting swept away in the tide, he finds a framed family portrait of Halliday and Underwood. He takes refuge in the infamous room 237 and encounters the female ghost who turns into a crumbling zombie before his eyes. Aech is just barely able to fend off being killed by the ghost before stumbling into the bathtub and ends up in the hedge maze. He flees from Jack, the axe murderer, and is pulled out of the maze through the hotel kitchen pantry at the last second by Parzival and Art3mis. The gang regroups and Daito and Sho return with the room key. However, Aech tells them about the zombie lady in room 237 and Art3mis then suspects that the challenge is not supposed to be like the movie, citing Parzival’s idea of Kira being the key to victory. That’s when Aech directs their attention to the portrait he found. Art3mis realizes that Halliday’s biggest fear was kissing a girl (a leap not taken). The gang hears music coming from the Ballroom, where they find zombies dancing over a green misty abyss. Among those zombies is Kira. When Parzival notes there no zombies in The Shining, Art3mis clarifies that what they’re looking at is a setting from Mayhem Mansion, one of Halliday’s first games. The Shining was merely a series of effective diversions like the surface track in the racing challenge. Daito informs the gang they have a minute left to complete their mission, which they no know is to reach Kira. Art3mis take the leap of faith, but the rest of the gang is transported back outside the theater where they entered the challenge, meaning it’s all up to her now. She grabs onto the zombies to avoid falling into the pit below her until she finally reaches a pillar where Kira is waiting for her. She asks her to dance and wins the challenge. Anorak the All-knowing appears and the Jade Key is as good as hers. She unlocks the Jade Gate and gains the scroll containing the riddle to the final challenge.
Meanwhile, IOI has solved the clue leading to the second challenge as well and the Sixers are working tirelessly to find the second key. Sorrento sees that the rest of the High Five have won the key, realizing Wade is still alive. F’Nale, on the other hand, detects the tattooed man from before via security camera footage and uses him to track down the hideout. Meanwhile, Wade and Samantha are debating the meaning of the final riddle: “If you know the answer ultimate, divide it by the number magic. What you need, want and desire will be found in the fortress tragic.” Just as Samantha tells Wade she believes he’s going to win, the hideout is raided by IOI enforcers. Samantha helps Wade escape, but is captured and dragged to a Loyalty Center for defaulting on her family's debt. Wade escapes into the alley where he meet Helen Harris, the player behind Aech (her father called her “H”), who takes him to her USPS truck where the rest of the gang has been operating out of. As an IOI drone identifies it, it’s smashed with a baseball bat by Toshiro, Daito’s player. He says that Samantha sent them all a message indicating their meeting spot before she was captured. To make matters worse, Helen says the Sixers found the third challenge. The gang piles inside and drive off, narrowly escaping the pursuit of F’Nale’s strike team. When Wade asks how IOI found the third challenge so fast, Helen explains that IOI solved the first 3 lines of the riddle, pinpointing it’s location in Sector 14 on Planet Doom. The only thing they couldn’t figure out was the “Fortress Tragic”, so they sent every Sixer they had until they found the right fortress: Anorak’s Castle. That’s when Wade is introduced to, Zhou, Toshiro’s 11-year-old brother who controls Sho. With the 4 of them all aquatinted and their mission parameters set, they formulate a plan to rescue Samantha. Helen decides they go to Sorrento himself to force him to give her up and with the details of Sorrento’s rig in Wade’s photographic memory, they put their plan in motion.
In the Loylaty Center, Samantha is contained and shackled within a pod and put to work setting charges along a bridge. In the fortress, Sorrento meets up with one of his soldiers, who tells him the challenge is to find Halliday’s favorite video game out of every single title ever released for the Atari 2600. All the Sixers are lined up single file to attempt the challenge, but they all lose and are zeroes out after 60 seconds. While the support team researches obsessively for which game is the winning title, Sorrento meets up with i-R0k, telling him that now is the time for the Orb of Osovox. He activates the orb and conjures up a force field around the fortress, sealing it off from the rest of the OASIS.
Wade and Toshiro arrive in Sorrento’s office and hold him at gunpoint, demanding to know exactly where he’s imprisoned Samantha and the access code to contact her rig. Wade leaves Sorrento in Toshiro’s hands and walks out the door into Aech’s workshop. Wade, as Parzival, explains to Sho that they grabbed him in transit just as he was logging out of the OASIS, revealing they created an exact replica of Sorrento’s office to trick him into believing he has been pulled out of the OASIS, forcing him into giving up their captured comrad. They were able to hack his rig because he left his password out where Wade could see it when they first met.
Wade then uses the information to reach Samantha in her rig. She tells Parzival about the force field Sorrento rigged around Anorak’s castle. Sho confirms their situation is hopeless until the Orb of Osovox is neutralized, but for now, Parzival decides their mission for the time being is rescuing Art3mis. Wade uses a diagram of the rigs to free Samantha from her binds. Instead of escaping the Loyalty Center, she sets a course for Sorrento’s office, telling Parzival that to beat IOI, he needs to raise an army. While he does that, she will take down the shield.
While Toshiro still has Sorrento at gunpoint, Sorrento figures out he’s been duped and contact F’Nale about the development. They head to the Loyalty Center to find Samantha has escaped and work on finding the rest of the High Five. While Sorrento returns to his work, F’Nale hunts down the High Five.
Samantha accesses Sorrento's rig for information on the Orb of Osovox and she watches Wade enact the next phase of their plan. Parzival arrives on Planet Doom and streams to all the many OASIS players worldwide, addressing them to join his rebel force against IOI. Samantha narrowly escapes Sorrento’s office before he returns and the rest of the High Five gear up for their last stand. Toshiro meditates while Helen activates the Iron Giant replica she was building. For the honor of James Halliday, Parzival pleads to all the other players to help save the OASIS from the evil hands of Nolan Sorrento. Just when it appears nobody responded, every single OASIS player arrives in full force to join Parzival in an all-out assault against Sorrento and the Sixers at the castle.
Samantha sneaks into the IOI war room and poses among the active Sixers to get Art3mis behind enemy lines.
With the titles for the Atari 2600 dwindling, a woman on the support team deduces the right game is Adventure, for it being the first game to have an Easter Egg.
Art3mis sneaks through the castle until she finds the Orb of Osovox. When she finds its under guard, she uses her camera drone to remotely speak the incantation to shut down the force field. With the dome finally collapsed, Parzival rallies his army to the clash of the ages with a ghetto blaster playing We’re not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister. As the battle starts, Art3mis uses her camera bot to spy the challenge zone and learn the winning game is Adventure. In the ensuing battle, Art3mis meets up with Parzival in his flying delorian to inform him of the challenge. While the rebels keep the Sixers occupied, Parzival and Art3mis race to their victory.
In the real world, F’Nale is out for blood as she searches for Helen’s van. She drives right past their expert hiding place while they continue the battle.
Parzival and Art3mis continue on route to the castle and are aided by other players when their weapons run dry. Seeing how the ensuing battle has left the at a stalemate, Sorrento activates his Mechagodzilla. Knowing this could be disastrous, Daito finally awakens from his meditative trance and joins the battle. When he does, he activates the Gregarious 120 and transforms into Gundam to fight Sorrento head on. With Sorrento distracted, Parzival makes a run for the castle while Art3mis stays to help Aech on his Iron Giant mod. After 30 seconds, Daito changes back, sacrificing himself as Sorrento incinerates him and zeroes him out. However, Aech arrives to keep up the battle and helps Art3mis deploy a grenade that she uses to destroy Sorrento's Mechagodzilla.
Sorrento then realizes Samantha is controlling Art3mis from inside the war room and goes downstairs to personally find her.
Just when Parzival and Sho arrive at the castle, i-R0k detonates the charges and destroys the bridge, leaving nothing but a river of lava between them. However, Aech arrives and uses the Iron Giant to bridge the moat. Aech gets Art3mis across, but Parzival and Sho are unable to get past i-R0k and Art3mis is completely out of weapons. Just when it looks like Aech is going to give out, Sho dismembers i-R0k with a flying glaive and they make it across. However, Aech is zeroed out when he falls into the lava. The 3 remaining High Fivers reach the castle, but are blocked off by a Sixer cordon. When they find cover, Parzival tells Art3mis to escape IOI before Sorrento finds her and kills her. When he notices her looking in an odd direction, he deduces that she’s only inches away from being found in the real world. Parzival has no choice but to zero out Art3mis to let her escape IOI in reality. He tells her to meet them at River Sal’s and shoots her down, covering her escape just before Sorrento finds her. She escapes and rushes down the street to the rendezvous point.
With Samantha safe, Parzival deploys the Holy Hand Grenade and obliterates the Sixer cordon, clearing the way to enter the challenge zone. Parzival and Sho find the last Sixer still playing Adventure on the Atari 2600. He wins, but is still zeroed out. Parzival immediately realizes, through Halliday's initial message that sparked the contest, that the goal is not to win Adventure, but to find its own Easter Egg, the first of its kind. Just before he can win the challenge, Sorrento shows up and i-R0k captures Sho. He tries bribing Parzival one last time with $50,000,000, but threatens to detonate a cataclyst if he refuses. Sorrento personally tells Parzival that he couldn’t care less about the OASIS itself and rather never set foot again, but knows how important Halliday’s contest is to everyone else. Parzival refuses to hand over the world’s most important economic resource to a corporate tyrant and Sorrento activates the bomb. However, Parzival fights back with all of his powers and abilities gained from the OASIS.
After a final, unsuccessful attempt to convince Wade to join IOI, Sorrento, despite being subdued by Wade, activates the Cataclyst, which zeroes out everyone on Planet Doom (including himself, Parzival and i-R0k), seemingly ending the battle.
Just when it looks all hope is lost, the smoke clears and Parzival is completely unscathed. He pulls out of his pocket the quarter he got from the Curator, revealing it to be an Extra Life.
He completes the quest and acquires the third key, despite coming under attack from Zandor in reality, and a vault forms. Inside the vault, Anorak presents Parzival a contract; however, Wade declines as it is similar to the one Morrow had signed that dissolved his partnership with Halliday, correctly believing it to be a test. Anorak transforms into Halliday, shows Parzival a Big Red Button that would shut down the OASIS permanently, and officially awards him the Golden Egg as the winner of the contest.
Sorrento arrives to kill Wade for real, but is forced to accept defeat when he sees that Wade has won, and is arrested afterwards alongside Zandor; Aech had sent the police a recording of Sorrento admitting to having killed Alice during his interrogation. The High Five, hailed as heroes, share control of the OASIS, with Wade hiring Morrow, revealed to be the archive curator, as a consultant on a salary of 25 cents. The group ban loyalty centers from access to the OASIS, including IOI's Sixer division, freeing them from their debts and heavily restructuring the company. The OASIS is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays to force people to spend more time in the real world, including Wade and Samantha who have formed a relationship and bought an apartment together; a voiceover by Wade, when revealing the decision, cites Halliday's words "reality is the only thing that's real."
Cast
- Tye Sheridan as Parzival / Wade Watts, a Gunter and one of the "High Five", who wishes to win the Quest so he can leave the stacks.
- Olivia Cooke as Art3mis / Samantha Cook, a famous Gunter, one of the "High Five" and also a member of an underground rebel organization, who works with various allies to ensure the OASIS is kept free and out of the hands of IOI.
- Ben Mendelsohn as Nolan Sorrento, the power-hungry and unscrupulous recently appointed CEO of Innovative Online Industries, who seeks full control over the OASIS. He leads the Sixers, an army of indentured servants in the OASIS.
- Lena Waithe as Aech / Helen Harris, a Gunter and one of the "High Five", who is male in the OASIS and longtime friend of Wade's. Aech runs a virtual garage in her free time to create and fix various vehicles and items, and deflates the first-person shooter competition on Planet Doom.
- T.J. Miller as i-R0k, a freelance weapons and magic item dealer and bounty hunter, who is often employed by IOI.
- Simon Pegg as Curator / Ogden Morrow, the co-creator of the OASIS, who eventually left the company due to personal reasons. He harbors a concern about how many people have developed an unhealthy dependency on the game.
- Mark Rylance as Anorak / James Halliday, the deceased co-creator of the OASIS, who includes an Easter Egg hidden in the OASIS after his passing that grants control over the OASIS to its winner.
- Philip Zhao as Sho / Zhou, a ninja Gunter and one of the "High Five", an 11-year-old in reality.
- Win Morisaki as Daito / Toshiro, a samurai Gunter and one of the "High Five".
- Hannah John-Kamen as F'Nale Zandor, the head of IOI's operations in the physical world, as well as their indentured servitude programs.
Additionally, Susan Lynch portrays Alice, Wade's aunt; Ralph Ineson portrays Rick, Alice's abusive boyfriend; Perdita Weeks portrays Karen "Kira" Underwood, Morrow's wife; Clare Higgins portrays Mrs. Gilmore, Wade's neighbor; Simone Kirby as Loretta; and Letitia Wright portrays a rebel who can briefly be seen at the safe house. McKenna Grace and Lulu Wilson appear as elementary school children who use the OASIS.
Production
Development
Warner Bros. and De Line Pictures won an auction for the rights to Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One in 2010, before it had been published. Cline was set to write the script for the film, which Donald De Line and Dan Farah would produce. Eric Eason rewrote Cline's script, and Zak Penn was hired to rewrite the previous drafts by Cline and Eason. Village Roadshow Pictures came aboard to co-finance and co-produce the film with Warner Bros. Steven Spielberg signed on to direct and produce the film, which Kristie Macosko Krieger also produced, along with De Line and Farah. Ready Player One is Spielberg's first action-fantasy film since The Adventures of Tintin in late 2011. Cline and Penn made several revisions while adapting the novel to film. Most of these changes were to eliminate scenes that would be uninteresting in a visual format, such as when Wade beats a high score in Pac-Man, or recites all the lines from the film WarGames.
Casting
Three actresses were top-runners for the role of Art3mis: Elle Fanning, Olivia Cooke, and Lola Kirke; In September 2015, Cooke was announced as having been cast in the coveted female lead role. In January 2016, Ben Mendelsohn joined the cast. In February 2016, Tye Sheridan was confirmed as playing the lead role of Wade, after a lengthy nationwide casting call failed to produce an unknown for the part. In March 2016, Simon Pegg joined the cast. In April 2016, Mark Rylance joined the cast, and in June 2016, T.J. Miller, Hannah John-Kamen and Win Morisaki also joined. In July 2016, Philip Zhao joined the cast, and Lena Waithe, Ralph Ineson, McKenna Grace, and Letitia Wright were later also announced to have been cast.
Filming
Production was set to begin in July 2016. Screenwriter Zak Penn tweeted on July 1, 2016 that the first week of filming had been completed. In August and September 2016, filming took place in Birmingham, England; this included Livery Street in the Jewellery Quarter area of the city, which was extensively used, including the van chase that takes place towards the film's end. The chase was edited to make the street appear longer than it actually is. The backpackers' hostel Hatters, also on Livery Street, was used for internal filming for a basement scene. Also utilized was the Ludgate Hill Car Park lot on Lionel Street, in which caravan homes were partially built; a planned explosion caused some local business and homes to call emergency services, as no prior notification were given by the production. Other locations in the city included the former industrial area of Digbeth, with a rooftop scene that overlooks the Birmingham City Centre skyline, with some of the city's landmark buildings being erased and replaced with CGI buildings in order to create a dystopian Ohio in the year 2045. Principal photography ended on September 27, 2016.
Visual effects and post-production
Spielberg worked with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to oversee the film's visual effects, meeting with ILM for 3 hours three times a week. He has stated that "[t]his is the most difficult movie I've done since Saving Private Ryan."
A significant part of the film takes place in a virtual space based on the Overlook Hotel in the film The Shining. This was mostly a digital recreation of the film using high-quality telecine of the original film, giving them some freedom of new camera angles and shots that could be generated from this recreation. The final film includes a combination of the original footage from The Shining and ILM's additional work. Only a few scenes in this sequence which involved real actors, such as the appearance of the Grady twins, required them to construct a faithful reproduction of The Shining's set for the actors to interact with. Finally, the sequence was post-processed to introduce film grain and other aging effects to make the new footage indistinguishable from the original film.
Cultural References
Promotional posters for the movie pay homage to popular pop culture movies of the 80s and 90s.
Ready Player One pays homage to the popular culture of the 1970s and 1980s as in the book, but also extends to the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s; several reviewers have identified well over one hundred references to films, television shows, music, toys, video games, anime and comics of these eras. Cline did not have any issues with these copyrighted elements when he published the book, but was aware that securing all necessary rights would be a major obstacle for a film adaptation, a task made easier by Spielberg's reputation. Spielberg and producer Kristie Macosko Krieger spent several years securing the rights for the copyrighted elements used in the film, starting before filming began, since some scenes would not be possible without certain copyrighted elements. Spielberg estimated that they had gotten about 80% of the copyrighted elements they wanted. Spielberg noted that in some cases, the filmmakers were able to secure rights for some but not all the characters they wanted; in negotiating with Warner Bros., they could not secure Close Encounters of the Third Kind from Columbia Pictures, despite the latter being one of Spielberg's first films as director.
Blade Runner, which was integral to the plot of the book, was off-limits to the film adaptation because Blade Runner 2049 was in production at the same time as Ready Player One. As a replacement, they conceived of players having to play out the events of The Shining, which Spielberg was able to secure the rights to as an homage to his friend Stanley Kubrick. While Cline's original work heavily used the character of Ultraman, the rights over the character were still under legal dispute, requiring them to replace Ultraman with the titular robot from The Iron Giant. Spielberg recognized that his past films were a significant part of the 1980s popular culture cited in the book, and to avoid being accused of "vanity", he opted to remove many of the references to his own work. Cline stated that he believed Spielberg wanted to avoid self-references to films he directed, due to the criticism he received for his film 1941, which lampooned his own previous works Jaws and Duel. Cline said he had to convince Spielberg to include some iconic elements, such as the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine, which Spielberg conceded as the film was one he produced rather than directed. Cline also asked ILM to include a reference to Last Action Hero, one of Penn's first screenplays, without Penn's knowledge.
Music
- Main article: Ready Player One (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
On June 9, 2016, Variety stated that Spielberg's regular collaborator John Williams was planning to compose the film's score. However, in July 2017, it was reported that Williams had left the project to work on Spielberg's The Post instead, with Alan Silvestri hired to take over scoring duties for Ready Player One. The official score was released by WaterTower Music as a two-CD set on March 30, 2018, with vinyl and cassette releases projected for the summer. At Spielberg's request, Silvestri references his own music from Back to the Future within the film's score, as well as quoting the music from The Shining for the film's sequence at the Overlook Hotel.
The film also includes licensed music from the 1970s and 1980s, which appears on the digital-only album Ready Player One: Songs From The Motion Picture.
Release
Ready Player One was initially scheduled to be released on December 15, 2017,[52] but was pushed back to March 30, 2018, to avoid competition with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In January 2018, it was announced the film's release date had been moved up one day to March 29, 2018. The film had its world premiere at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas on March 11, 2018 (as part of the South by Southwest Film Festival).
Warner Bros. distributes the film worldwide, with Village Roadshow Pictures distributing in several overseas territories.
Home media
Ready Player One is scheduled to be released on digital retailers on July 3, 2018, and will be out on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-Ray, and DVD on July 24, 2018.
Reception
Box office
As of June 26, 2018, Ready Player One has grossed $136.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $444.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $581.7 million. Made on a production budget of $175 million, with about $150 million more spent on global marketing costs, the film needed to gross at least $440 million in order to break-even.
North America
In the United States and Canada, Ready Player One was released alongside God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness and Acrimony, and was projected to gross $40–50 million from 4,100 theaters over its first four days. It made $12.1 million on its first day, including $3.75 million from Wednesday night previews. It ended up grossing $41.8 million in its opening weekend (for a four-day total of $53.7 million), marking Spielberg's biggest debut since 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In its second weekend it grossed $25.1 million (a drop of 40%), finishing second behind newcomer A Quiet Place ($50 million). In its third weekend the film made $11.2 million, coming in fourth behind Rampage, A Quiet Place and Truth or Dare. In its fourth weekend the film made $7.4 million, finishing sixth at the box office In its fifth weekend it grossed $2.4 million, a drop of 67% from previous weekend and finishing ninth.
Other territories
Worldwide, the film was released day-in-date in 62 countries, including China, where it was expected to make $100–120 million in its opening weekend. It grossed $2.9 million on its first day from 11 countries, including $980,000 from Korea. In China the film made $14.75 million on its first day and earned a score of 9.2 from audiences on Douban (compared to the average 6–7 earned by Hollywood films). It grossed $61.7 million in China in its opening weekend which is the highest opening ever for Warner Bros in said territory. The film's other major opening weekend territories were South Korea ($8.1 million), United Kingdom ($7.3 million), Russia ($6.1 million) and France ($6 million). In its second weekend in China it grossed $42 million, and in third weekend grossed $13.9 million. The film grossed $81.7 million in its second weekend overseas, dropping only 35% and is ahead of other newcomers A Quiet Place and Blockers. In its third weekend it grossed $33.8 million overseas dropping 58.6%. On April 21, 2018, the film topped $200 million in China, becoming the tenth-biggest U.S. release ever in the country. In its fourth weekend in China, it grossed $8.24 million finishing third at the box office and has a total gross of $207 million. It grossed $23 million overseas from 67 territories in its fourth weekend. It opened in Japan, its final major market and grossed $4.4 million. In its fifth weekend overseas, it grossed $8.6 million from 63 territories. In China, the weekend was $2.4M to push it past Avatar as the no. 9 Hollywood title ever in the market with $213.8M (RMB 1.34B). Japan's third frame held well during Golden Week with just a 6% drop from the last session. The total there is currently at $17.5M. In its sixth weekend in China, it bumped up 10% from last session to lift the local cume to $220.2M. As of April 29, the film's largest markets after China are United Kingdom ($22.6 million), France ($20.3 million), Korea ($18.6 million), Japan ($17.5 million), and Russia-CIS ($12.7 million).
Critical Response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 333 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Ready Player One is a sweetly nostalgic thrill ride that neatly encapsulates Spielberg's strengths while adding another solidly engrossing adventure to his filmography." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 82% overall positive score and a 65% "definite recommend".
In a review for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico wrote that the film's "overwhelming" nature and non-stop action will likely thrill fans of pop culture; while he observed narrative weaknesses, such as a lack of depth among the supporting characters, he felt that they ultimately do not hinder the film from working "on the level of technical, blockbuster mastery that Spielberg helped define." Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman called the film a "coruscating explosion of pop-culture eye candy," and found The Shining sequence to be "irresistible". However, he also criticized Spielberg's dichotomization of fantasy and reality, as well as the film having "more activity than it does layers." IndieWire's Eric Kohn characterized the film as "an astonishing sci-fi spectacle and a relentless nostalgia trip at once" and praised both The Shining sequence as well as Penn's screenplay, particularly with respect to Mendelsohn's character. Nevertheless, he remarked that the film "drags a bunch in its final third".
Alissa Wilkinson, writing for Vox, praised both the quality and quantity of the world building. She also commented on just how dystopian the future portrayed is, where the main characters fight to save the OASIS and the escape from reality it represents, with arguably less concern for the problems of the real world.
Monica Castillo was more critical of the film in her review for The Guardian and drew attention to the absence of character arcs, the lack of resolution for plot holes in the novel, and the bloating of scenes in the film by trivia. Matt Bobkin scored the film a 6 out of 10 for Exclaim! saying the film "is not so much a groundbreaking recontextualizing, more doe-eyed affection with no critical commentary."
Film and television critic Matt Zoller Seitz praised Ready Player One and noted the undercurrent of sadness present in the film, stating that "I don't think Spielberg gets enough credit for making sad films that most people interpret as happy, and complex films that are immediately dismissed as simple or confused." Seitz concluded that the film "is a mess, but it is a fascinating and complex one..."
Possible Sequel
Cline is working on a sequel to the novel. For a sequel to the film, he stated, "[...] I think there's a good chance that, if this one does well, Warner Bros. will want to make a sequel. I don't know if Steven [Spielberg] would want to dive back in, because he would know what he is getting into. He's said that it's the third-hardest film he's made, out of dozens and dozens of movies."
List of Licenses that helping the references
Since the film use many cameos from other films, video game, or anime, Warner Bros need to buy under these licenses:
- Atari Interactive. Inc for Adventure, Joust, Robotron: 2084, Centipede, Swordquest, Pacman, Motocross, Missile Command, Tempest, Revenge From Mars
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, Inc. for Gundam, Dark Souls and Pac-Man
- Bethesda Softworks LLC for Skyrim
- Blizzard Entertainment for Overwatch, Starcraft and Warcraft
- Capcom U.S.A for Street Fighter
- CBS Television Studios for Star Trek
- Disney Enterprises, Inc. for Star Wars and Marvel Comics
- Electronic Arts for Mass Effect and UltraBots
- Gearbox Software for Borderlands, Duke Nukem and Battleborn
- Hasbro, Inc. for Transformers
- Jim Henson Company, Inc. for Fraggle Rock
- Kodansha Ltd. for Shotaro Kaneda's Bike from AKIRA
- Konami Digital Entertainment for Castlevania
- Mattel, Inc. for Hot Wheels, Masters Of The Universe
- MGM Media Licensing for Child's Play, Robby the Robot, the Beastmaster, Wargames
- Microsoft Corporation for Halo
- Mifune Corporation for Daito's Avatar appearance on Mifune's samurai film.
- Mojang AB for Minecraft
- Nickelodeon & Viacom for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Nintendo Corporation for 1-up Sound Effect, Donkey Kong Jr. poster, Hyrule Castle mention, The Great Fox
- Orion Pictures for Rambo poster, RoboCop, mention of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
- Paramount Pictures for War of the Worlds, Jason Voorhees,
- Rare Ltd. for mention of 007 Goldeneye, Battletoads
- Sanrio Company, Ltd. for Hello Kitty
- SEGA Holdings for Sonic the Hedgehog and Homeworld ships
- Sesame Workshop for Kermit the frog plushie
- Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures for Christine, Ghostbusters, Jason and the Argonauts, Krull, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Q*Bert,
- Square Enix Holdings for Tomb Raider
- Sunrise, Inc. for Gundam too
- Taito for Space Invaders
- Tatsunoko Productions for Go, Speed Racer, Go!
- Terminal Reality for Bloodrayne
- Toho Pictures for MechaGodzilla
- Todd MacFarlane for Spawn
- Topps Company, Inc. for Garbage Pail Kids Cards
- Twentieth Century Fox for Alien/Aliens, Serenity, Predator, The Greatest American Hero
- Universal Studios Licensing for Back To The Future, The Breakfast Club, The A-Team, Knight Rider, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, E.T., The Last Starfighter, Army of Darkness, Conan The Barbarian. Smokey and the Bandit, Fast Times, Exosquad
- Valve Corporation for HTC Vive
- WEP LLC for Red Lion from Voltron
- Wizards of the Coasts for Dungeons and Dragons
List of References
Video Games
- Adventure: Playing Adventure and finding Warren Robbinet's name is the task for the final challenge.
- Asteroids: James Halliday Mentions that Asteroids is perfect. an Asteroids Arcade Cabinet is visible behind The Curator's Desk at the Halliday Journals Building..
- Atari 2600: An Atari sticker is on the front of Art3mis's bike. Playing an Atari 2600 Video Game is task for the final Challenge.
- Batman: Arkham Series: The Arkham Knight is briefly seen exiting Halliday Journals then later watching Parzival's broadcast and finally appearing during the final battle. Man-Bat is shot by Aech during the PvP fight. Nightwing can be seen wandering around Incipio and in the final battle in Spawn's clan. Harley Quinn can be seen in the Distracted Globe numerous times. The variant of Batgirl that appears in this film is also taken from the series. Firefly appears during the final battle, jumping behind Parzival once he lifts up the boombox. Batgirl is seen at Halliday's Journals and again during the final battle in Spawn's clan
- Battleborn: Attikus can be seen walking in the Oasis. El Dragòn first appears walking past Parzival when he is heading for the Copper Key race and later appears in the second row of OASIS players during the final battle. Ambra first appears as one of the players bombarding Parzival inside Halliday Journals and later during the final battle in Tracer's clan. Orendi can be seen stepping out of an entry portal in the OASIS. Miko can be seen exiting Halliday Journals and later at the Distracted Globe. Benedict can be seen walking behind Parzival on Incipio. Attikus, El Dragòn, and Toby are seen in the final battle. Shayne and Aurox are seen behind Parzival when he is first seen. Pendles is briefly seen at the OASIS mall after Parzival purchases the Holy Hand Grenade and he first appears on Sports Planet at the golf range. Miko is supposedly in the final battle.
- Battletoads: Zitz And Rash are Avatars entering the OASIS Entry Plaza When Wade explains you can be a different species. Pimple is seen at the Distracted Globe Dance-Floor dancing with Miko from Battleborn. Zitz, Rash, and Pimple are one of the first avatars responding to Wade's Broadcast on Planet Doom.
- Battlezone: The look of this game is the basis of the OASIS planet Archaide. Several Tanks from Battlezone are seen on the Planet Doom PvP battle and again in the final battle.
- Berzerk: One of the games suggested by the Halliday Scholars while attempting to complete the third challenge.
- Black Tiger: a framed Black tiger poster is visible in the 2029 gregarious games office party memory. The poster of the game also appears in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- BloodRayne: Rayne is briefly seen during the final battle in Tracer's clan.
- Borderlands: A Borderlands stall can be seen in the OASIS mall. Sledge's shotgun appears at multiple points in the movie. Scorpion uses the buzz axe during the PVP fight. When Aech kills Freddy Krueger, he drops Psycho's buzz axe when he dies. El Dragon wield's Sledge's Hammer.
- Castlevania: A framed poster for the Game is seen when Halliday and Morrow are presenting the first OASIS Build in 2025. A much smaller poster is seen stuck to the wall of Aech's garage.
- Centipede: A Sixer tries playing Centipede on the Atari 2600 but fails.
- ColecoVision: When Wade is transported to Halliday's childhood bedroom, he sees a young Halliday using a ColecoVision (as evidenced by the controller).
- Commodore 64: In Wade's hideout in the stacks, he hangs his retinal scanner on a Commodore 64 joysick.
- Dark Souls: A Mushroom Parent and Mushroom Child can be seen hopping out of the OASIS Entry Portal next to Robocop. A Mushroom Parent can be seen watching Wade's Broadcast for help.
- Defender: When Wade is getting ready to log into the OASIS, he pulls out his OASIS Headset out of a Defender shirt. While trying to bribe Wade, Sorrento asks him if he wants the ship from Defender. Later, it is suggested that a Sixer should play the game on the Atari 2600; however, the idea instantly gets dismissed.
- Donkey Kong Jr.: A poster of the game appears in the bedroom of a little girl who controls one of the PVP battle characters.
- Duke Nukem: Duke Nukem is one of the OASIS civilians taken out by Aech during the PvP fight. Duke Nukem respawns on the pyramid, where he jumps an unsuspecting civilian (seen behind E. Honda). The Colt 9119 Gold-Plated Gun appears next to the Orb Of Osuvox when Sorrento first picks it up. An OASIS Avatar hands Wade the Railgun from Duke Nukem Forever in the final battle. Lara Croft and Cassie Cage can both be seen wielding the Colt 9119 Gold-Plated gun.
- Galaga: A Galaga poster appears on the wall in Halliday and Morrow's office. A poster for the 1983 video game appears on the wall in Aech's Garage and apartment.
- Game Boy: A Game Boy can be seen in Wade's hideout van. A Game Boy also appears next to young Halliday in his childhood bedroom.
- Gears of War: Art3mis uses a Mark 2 Lancer Assault Rifle during the final battle. Dizzy Wallin from Gears Of Wars 2 can be seen chatting to Lara Croft before the Copper Key Race and he also appears in Halliday Journals. Aech takes out a Berserker during the PvP Planet Doom battle. Two boomshot guns are seen next to the Orb of Osuvox when I-r0k picks it up. Art3mis also uses a Torque Bow. One of the avatars in Tracer's clan wields a Sawed-Off Shotgun.
- GoldenEye 007: While Parzival and Art3mis test each other's knowledge in Aech's garage, they mention that this was Halliday's favorite shooter game and that Oddjob was his favorite character to play as. Toshiro uses a PP7 Silencer Gun from the game to hold Sorrento captive.
- Gorf: The game young Halliday is playing in the end scene where his grown version gives Parzival the Egg. As indicated by the system's controller, he is playing the ColecoVision version.
- Gradius: the Vic viper and the Lord British are seen flying around the OASIS
- Halo: A group of Spartans, Arbiters, Grunts, and an Elite are seen in the final battle. The Elite in the final battle shows up in the beginning, driving the A-Team Van during the Copper Key Race. When Aech is in the PVP zone, he uses an M8080b Assault Rifle. Art3mis uses a Magnum Pistol during the shootout in the Distracted Globe. During the final battle, Parzival is seen summoning an SPNKR Rocket Launcher from the first three games. In Avatar Outfitters a stall for Halo is visible selling Covenant Armour. Art3mis saves a Grunt from a Sixer during the final battle. Master Chief or a Spartan can be seen getting wiped out by the Catalyst.
- Haunted House: One of the games that the Halliday Scholars suggests while attempting to complete the third challenge.
- Homeworld: The Kushan Mothership, Kadeshi Mothership, Taiidan Scout, Taiidan Bomber and Vaygr Assault Craft are amongst the ships entering the Distracted Globe.
- Injustice: Gods Among Us: The variants of Supergirl, Blue Beetle, Flash, Deadshot, Atrocitus and Aquaman used in the film are from this game. An Injustice stall can be seen in the OASIS mall with a hologram of the Joker.
- Joust: Knights And Ostriches from the game charge into each other during the introduction Of Planet Doom. Wade's OASIS Headset has a Joust decal placed onto it. A Joust poster appears in Aech's Garage.. One of the Halliday Scholars working for IOI suggests they should play Joust for the final challenge. In an archived memory behind Wade is a teen James Halliday playing Joust in the Happy Time Pizza Joint. A Joust poster appears in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: Hyrule Castle is listed on a Halliday Scholar's whiteboard as a possible location for the final challenge. A piece of artwork from the video game's manual is a poster on the wall of James Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Mass Effect: Commander John Shepard is visible roaming the Entry Plaza under the walkway that Wade contacts Aech on. Shepard also appears at the Distracted Globe, doing his Shy dance from the game. Commander Jane Shepard appears next to Tracer when Wade shouts "first to the key".
- Minecraft: One of the many locations introduced in the OASIS is a Minecraft planet. Roaming the Minecraft Village in the planet are skins of Steve and Alex along with pigs and sheep.
- Missile Command: A Missile Command arcade cabinet is behind the Curator's Desk at the Halliday Journals building. A poster for the game is hanging from the roof in Aech's apartment. A Missile Command game cartridge is next to Young Hallliday's ColecoVision in Halliday's childhood bedroom recreation.
- Mortal Kombat: Art3mis disguises herself as Goro (along with a Chestbuster from Alien which pops out of her) while at Holliday Journals. Cassie Cage, Scorpion, and Kabal are spotted during the final battle on Planet Doom. A dragon pin is on the collar of Toshiro's shirt. The dragons on either side of Halliday's Easter Egg are an inverted version of the dragons from the Mortal Kombat logo. Raiden, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion appear as statues cavities in the shrine wall. Kitana, Sub-Zero and Scorpion are also seen during the PvP fight on Planet Doom getting shot by Aech. Sektor supposedly is seen in line at a portal and Raiden is seen talking with a random avatar. Raiden is supposedly at Halliday's Journals. Sub-Zero walks past Parzival on the Racetrack. Cassie Cage is seen walking with a protoss zealot at the beginning. Kabal, Cassie Cage, and Sub-Zero appear at the Distracted Globe.
- Motocross: One of the games that the Halliday Scholars suggests while attempting to complete the third challenge.
- Nintendo Power: The original issue of the magazine can be seen on top of a stack of magazines in Aech's workshop when Parzival is picking an outfit to meet Art3mis at the Distracted Globe.
- Nintendo Zapper: One is hanging on the wall behind Wade as he straps on his visor in his hideout.
- Overwatch: Tracer is seen during the final battle in the OASIS and can also be seen briefly in the Oasis zooming into a portal. In the OASIS Mall, an Overwatch stall can be seen and Reaper shows interest in the dance zone when Wade puts on the Bee Gees' "Staying Alive".
- Pac-Man: A Pac-Man tabletop can be seen in Aech's hangout. A High School student wears a Pac-Man T-shirt. The Cherries from the game can be seen as a sticker on Samantha's OASIS visor. A Ms. Pac-Man sticker can be seen on Art3mis's Akira bike. A Pac-Man poster appears in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Pitfall! One of the pop-culture nerds working for IOI suggests they should play Pitfall! on the Atari 2600 but instantly gets dismissed.
- Pole Position: Two race cars from the game can be seen on the copper key racetrack.
- Q*bert: A Q*bert sticker can be seen in Wade's hideout van.
- Revenge From Mars: An arcade cabinet appears in Wade and Samantha's apartment.
- Robotron: Sorrento tells Wade that he likes to relax by playing the video game.
- Sega: A Sega sticker can be seen on Art3mis's Akira bike during the race.
- Sonic the Hedgehog: The titular character can be seen both waiting for an OASIS portal and attacking a Sixer during the final battle. Tails briefly appears alongside Sonic when the army first appears in response to Parzival's call.
- Space Duel: A poster for the Atari game is visible hanging from the roof above Aech when he is lecturing Wade about meeting people in the OASIS.
- Space Invaders: A graffiti of multiple invaders are on a brick wall in Ohio. James Halliday wears a Space Invaders T-shirt. On Wade's OASIS visor, there is a sticker of the logo from Space Invaders.
- StarCraft: Jim Raynor appears as Rick's avatar in the PVP Zone. A Protoss is briefly seen walking behind Hello Kitty and her friends. A Zergling is seen getting shot by Aech. A Hydralisk is seen slithering up the mountain during the PVP fight. A Zargling is seen getting zeroed out by the cataclyst
- Star Fox: The Great Fox is amongst the many starships going to the Distracted Globe.
- Street Fighter: Ryu is seen on walking the OASIS racetrack. Blanka and Chun Li are seen in the Distracted Globe. Both Chun-Li and Sagat are seen in the crowd of Oasis civilians during the final battle. The Street Fighter logo is seen as a sticker on Samantha's Oasis visor. Ryu appears again during the final battle, punching Sixers and attacking a Big Daddy, while Cammy is part of a group that gets zeroed out by the Cataclyst. E. Honda can be seen during a PvP fight climbing the Gregarious 120 Mountain and later during the final battle. Chun Li can be seen during the PvP fight swinging on a rope. The OASIS Mall contains a Street Fighter store. Wade uses a Hoduken during his fight against Sorrento's avatar.
- Super Breakout: It is suggested by a Halliday Scholar that a Sixer should play the game. A ROM game cartridge of the game is laying next to young Halliday's ColecoVision.
- Super Mario Bros.: The 1-Up sound effect is played when Art3mis asks Parzival out and returns his extra life coin to him. The Mushroom Kingdom is written down on the Halliday Scholar Whiteboard for a possible location for the Crystal Key.
- Super Mario Kart: Helen jokes about practicing her Mario Kart when IOI Vehicles ram into Helen's Postal Truck.
- Swordquest: It is suggested that a Sixer should play Swordquest on the Atari 2600, but instantly gets dismissed.
- Taito: A sticker of the company logo is visible on Art3mis' bike at the racetrack.
- Tempest: An arcade cabinet of the game appears behind the Curator's desk in Halliday Journals. In the novel, Tempest is the first part of the final challenge.
- Tetris: One of the arcade cabinets behind the Curator's desk is of Tetris.
- Tomb Raider: Lara Croft appears in the Distracted Globe, as part of the swarm that surrounds Parzival at Halliday Journals, and during the final battle.
- Ultrabots: A scorpion can be seen taking out the knight on the ostrich and carrying its rider in the Comic-Con trailer and a scorpion is among the mechs used in the final battle
- Warcraft: An Orc can be seen behind Parzival when he's first seen. Grommash Hellscream is seen briefly during the final battle hitting Sixers with his axe when the armies first start to clash
Movies
- 2001: A Space Odyssey: The EVA Discovery Space Pod is waiting for repair in Aech's garage.
- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad: The Cyclops can be seen during the final battle and can also be seen walking around the Oasis.
- Akira: Art3mis drives Shotaro Kaneda's motorcycle.
- Aliens: Wade shows Art3mis a replica of the USS Sulaco in Aech's garage. Later, Art3mis (Disguised as Goro) pulls a prank on Wade and makes a Chestbuster pop out of her. Alien was one of the films Halliday watched on the week he went on a date with Kira. Art3mis also uses Ellen Ripley's M41A Pulse Rifle during the shootout at the Distracted Globe, and Ripley's Grenade Launcher to zero Sixers during the final battle.
- Animal House: Wade references Faber College while testing Sorrento's pop culture knowledge.
- Army of Darkness : The Deadites are seen in the Oasis battlefield.
- Avatar: One of the stores at OASIS Mall is called Avatar Outfitters, the sign's font matches that of the film's logo.
- Back to the Future: Parzival is seen driving a DeLorean time machine, complete with flux capacitor. In Aech's Basement, there is a replica of the Hoverboard from Back to the Future: Part 2. When Art3mis is about to exit Aech's garage, she refers to Parzival as Marty McFly and does the helmet pose before exiting. Doc Brown, with his Back to the Future: Part 2 clothes and helmet, can briefly be seen wandering around the OASIS while Wade is walking to Halliday Journals. A Mayor Goldie Wilson election poster can be seen while Wade is choosing his party outfit. Wade purchases a Zemeckis Cube, named after the director of the film series, Robert Zemeckis.
- Batman: The Batman logo can be seen as a sticker on Wade's OASIS visor. Samantha has a smaller version of the same sticker on her own visor. A Batman sticker is featured several times again as a sticker on Akihide's shirt, on the walls in Aech's basement, and in Helen's truck. The Batmobile featured in the film is in Aech's garage. When Wade is introducing the OASIS he shows us players climbing Mount Everest with Batman. A Batarang can be seen spinning around in Avatar outfitters. Catwoman can first be seen watching Wade's broadcast and later during the final battle. The Joker, alongside a Gremlin, can be seen during the final battle, and both he and Harley Quinn appear in the Distracted Globe. Ace Chemicals can be seen as a sign on a building in the Copper Key racetrack. Two Batarangs are seen among the loot around the Orb of Osuvox. Batman (1989) can be seen in Hallidayy's archived films.
- The Beastmaster: A poster of the movie appears in Aech's wall, when he and Parzival talk about Art3mis.
- Beetlejuice: Beetlejuice appears in Haliday Journals, being a fan of Parzival. He's seen walking on the walkway that Z is on, earlier in the movie.
- Beverly Hills Cop: The VHS of the same name can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Big: In Wade's real world hideout, a list of movies on his wall includes Big.
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: While talking to Morrow, Halliday says that he wishes he could go back in time putting the "pedal to the metal" like Bill and Ted.
- Biloxi Blues: The film can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- The Breakfast Club: John Bender can be seen walking in the OASIS next to Nightwing. In Halliday Journals the tables in the building are exactly the same color and setup of the Detention room at the High School. One of the Halliday scholars mentions Shermer High School to Sorrento, who, in turn, mentions the film to Wade.
- Buckaroo Banzai: Parzival dresses up in Buckaroo's suit at the Distracted Globe.
- The Cannonball Run: In Wade's real world hideout, a list of movies on his wall includes (The) Cannonball Run.
- Child's Play: Chucky is an artifact seen during the final battle. Helen tosses him to Wade, who then unleashes the doll on a group of Sixers. He can also be seen in the OASIS mall in the auction.
- Christine: The titular car can be seen amongst other famous vehicles in the OASIS racetrack.
- Citizen Kane: Wade refers to Kira, and later, Morrow, as being the "Rosebud" at the center of the mystery of Halliday's contest.
- Cocktail: The Cocktails and Dreams neon sign from the movie appears on a wall in Aech's garage.
- Conan the Barbarian: Conan can be seen in the Crowd of OASIS Avatars Partying at the Distracted Globe when Wade first enters and exploring around Incipio.
- The Dark Crystal: When Halliday is telling Morrow about his date with Karen, he comments that her gamer name is "Kira" "like the character in The Dark Crystal". The movie's title is also listed among several others films in Wade's notebook. A poster of the film is seen in Aech's basement. It can also be seen again as a poster in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Dracula: Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" plays as Holliday rises from his coffin during his will and testament video, mimicking one of the title character's famous scenes.
- Do the Right Thing: The VHS of the film can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Eraser: Aech picks up an EM-1 Rail Gun during the PVP fight.
- Escape From New York: In Wade's real world hideout, a list of 80's movies on his wall includes the film. The map from the film also appears on a TV screen during the first appearance of the Halliday scholars. Snake Plissken is supposedly seen entering the OASIS
- Excalibur: The spell that i-R0k uses to activate the Orb of Osuvox (and that Art3mis later uses to deactivate it) is taken from the movie. Halliday has a poster of the film in his childhood bedroom. A poster of the film can be seen displayed at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining simulation.
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Wade mentions the school while testing Sorrento's pop culture knowledge. A VHS of the film can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off: The red Ferrari can be seen in Aech's garage. A Save Ferris T-shirt can be seen in James Halliday's room. When Wade asks Sorrento "Ridgemont or Faber?", a Halliday scholar tells him that the correct answer is Shermer High, which is the fictional high school which both Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club attend. Both films were written and directed by John Hughes.
- Firestarter: The film appears among a gallery of those that were playing on the weekend that Halliday took Karen on their date.
- The Fly (1986): It's mentioned that this film was playing on the weekend that Halliday took Karen on their date.
- Forbidden Planet: A Robbie The Robot toy appears in Holliday's childhood bedroom. A much larger model of Robbie appears in Wade and Samantha's apartment.
- Frankenstein: Frankenstein is seen entering the OASIS.
- Friday the 13th: Jason Voorhees is seen in the crowd of OASIS civilians during the final battle Being wiped out by the catalyst. Jason Voorhees can briefly be seen earlier fighting Daito and Shoto during the PvP fight. A Friday the 13th VHS can be seen in Halliday's Archived films.
- Ghostbusters: In Wade's hideout, a list of movies on his wall includes Ghostbusters. The Firehouse is seen on the racetrack
- Godzilla: Mechagodzilla is piloted by Sorrento in the final battle. A toy model of Godzilla can be seen in James Halliday's bedroom.
- The Goonies: The Goonies logo is printed on a James Halliday Newspaper Article. An IOI pop-culture nerd can be seen watching a Goonies scene with Mikey on his computer.
- Gremlins: A Peltzer Peeler Juicer is available for purchase from the same kiosk where Wade purchases the Holy Hand Grenade. Multiple Gremlins are briefly seen in the crowd of OASIS civilians during the final battle. A poster of a Mogwai (most likely Gizmo) can be seen on the set of the film. A sticker of a Gremlin is seen in Wade's hideout van. The box that stored Gizmo is what stores Sorrento's Orb. During the final battle, Stripe can be seen as part of Spawn's clan and later running with Freddy Krueger. A VHS of it can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Groucho Marx: Halliday quotes the actor to Parzival when he mentions that reality's the only place to get a decent meal.
- The Haunted Mansion (2003): The Ballroom scene was used in this film, but with dancing zombies replacing the dancing ghosts.
- Highlander: Among the notes in Wade's notebook are "I Am Juan Sanchez Villa Lobos Ramirez." Silvercup Studios (where the Final Battle Of Highlander took place) is visible at the Race when Kong destroys the road.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The clue to the third challenge mentions the ultimate number, which is 42 (as it is in the book). Shortly afterward, the movie's title appears among several others in Wade's notebook.
- Indiana Jones: A replica of the golden idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark on a shelf in Aech's basement. A poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark can be seen in Halliday's childhood bedroom. Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom is written down as a clue for the Crystal Key in Samantha's Notebook.
- Innerspace: A VHS copy of the movie sits on a shelf in Halliday's childhood bedroom. A VHS of the film can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- The Iron Giant: The Iron Giant can be seen in Aech's workshop and is later used as an avatar by Aech during the final battle.
- It's A Wonderful Life: i-R0k quotes the Angel Clarence's note to George Bailey that "No man is a failure who has friends."
- Jason and the Argonauts: The Living Skeletons can be seen during the final battle
- Jurassic Park: Rexy the Tyrannosaurus Rex can be seen as one of the obstacle hazards on the Oasis racetrack, chasing Aech's monster truck. The Space Invaders arcade cabinet in Aech's basement has a huge Jurassic Park logo sticker on to it.
- A Knight's tale: William Thatcher is seen walking past parzival as he is contacting aech, or at least someone with his helmet is.
- King Kong: King Kong is seen as one of the stage hazards in the Oasis racetrack. The movie's title also appears in a list of film's on the wall of Wade's hideout in The Stacks.
- Krull: After learning the clue to the third challenge, a page of Wade's open notebook includes the names of several films including Krull. During the final battle, Sho uses the Glaive from Krull to cut off i-R0k's arm.
- Labyrinth: There is a poster of the film in Wade's hideout van.
- Ladyhawke (1985): A poster of the film can be seen in Halliday's childhood bedroom. A VHS of the film can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Last Action Hero: Jack Slater III is showing at the theater in New York during the race.
- Lethal Weapon: Lethal Weapon 2 can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Mad Max: The Interceptor car is seen as one of the vehicles in the Oasis racetrack. A Mad Max poster can be seen in Aech's basement when wade is choosing his party outfit. A videocassette of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior was seen in i-R0k's stash when he zeroes out by the Cataclyst.
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Parzival purchases The Holy Hand Grenade at the OASIS Mall, then uses it during final battle to take out a group of Sixers. The Holy Grail is seen again when i-R0k gets zeroed out by the Cataclyst.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy Krueger is one of the OASIS civilians taken out by Aech in the PVP fight and can later be seen during the final battle. A poster of the film can be seen in Wade's hideout van.
- Pee-Wee's Big Adventure: Pee-Wee's bicycle can be seen in Aech's garage. A videocassette of the movie was seen in i-R0k's stash when he gets zeroed out by the Cataclyst.
- Police Academy: A VHS of Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol can be seen in Haliday's archived films
- Pulp Fiction: Daito's look when he traps sorrento mid entry seems to homage either Vincent Vega or Jules Winnfield from this movie
- Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones's whip is seen next to the shield when i-r0k flips it over.
- Real Genius: A poster of the film appears in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Revenge of the Nerds: A Revenge of the Nerds poster can be seen in a 1985 simulation when Halliday is building his first gaming computer at Halliday Journals. It can also be seen again in the recreation of Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Robocop (1987): The ED-209 can be seen in the back corner of Aech's garage. The titular character is briefly seen emerging from the OASIS Entry Portal When Wade says you can be a Live-Action Character. A Delta City billboard appears at King Kong's Stage When Kong destroys the Roads.
- Rocky Horror Picture Show: The biting lip logo is among the many patches on Helen's jacket.
- Saturday Night Fever: There are multiple mini-dance floors based on the film in the Distracted Globe.
- Say Anything...: Art3mis also mentions that the movie was playing on the weekend that Halliday and Karen went on their single date. Parzival is seen holding the boombox from the film, causing it to play music during the battle.
- Scarface (1983): The video cassette of the movie was seen in I-r0k's stash when he gets zeroed out by the Cataclyst. It also appears in Halliday's archived films.
- Scream: Ghostface is in the final battle
- See No Evil, Hear No Evil: Wade's hideout in The Stacks has a list of movie's on one wall that includes the 80's comedy film.
- The Shining: A Flicksync based on the movie acts as one the three key challenges, which includes numerous shot for shot recreations from the film. To initiate the challenge, the High Five enter a theater called The Overlook, named after the fictional hotel from the movie. Earlier, Halliday can be spotted in his office designing the bathroom of the Overlook Hotel, which appears during the challenge.
- Silent Running: While in Aech's workshop, Parzival shows Art3mis a replica of the Valley Forge.
- Sixteen Candles: The VHS of the film is seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Smokey and the Bandit: Sho drives a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am car during the race for the copper key.
- There's Something About Mary: While Parzival is getting ready for his date, Aech disses his "Something About Mary hair."
- Spaceballs: Eagle 5 can be seen in Aech's garage.
- Spawn: The titular character can be seen during the final battle and also in the Distracted Globe.
- Splash: The movie's title appears among a jumble of notes in Wade's Notebook.
- Star Wars: An X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Shuttle Tyirium, and Boba Fett's Slave 1 can be seen flying to the Distracted Globe. R2-D2 also appears as a toy model in Wade and Samantha's Apartment. When Wade completes the copper key race, Anorak congratulates him and says "nice racing, young Padawan". Parzival wears Han Solo's Belt along with his holster. Sorrento says he owns a Millenium Falcon. A Return of the Jedi poster is displayed on the outside The Overlook movie theater. Parzival's look throughout the movie resembles Han Solo. Samantha's hair at the end is done up in twin buns like Leia's in episode 4. A Star wars: the Empire Strikes Back VHS can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Stripes: a bit of the stripes theme plays when Art3mis wins the copper key, or maybe it's the 1941 theme.
- Superman: Parzival dresses up as Clark Kent (much to his dismay). The Iron Giant uses his body as a bridge, mirroring Superman's actions in the first film, and fulfilling the Iron Giant's desire from his own film to be like Superman.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: All four of the Ninja Turtles (mirroring their appearances from Out of the Shadows film) appear during the final battle. A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stall can be seen in the OASIS mall with a hologram of Michelangelo. Leonardo and Raphael can be seen exploring Incipio.
- The Terminator: The iron giant does a Thumbs up when he melts in the lava, a callback to the T-800 melting in a fire and doing a Thumbs up before burning.
- Throne of Blood: Toshiro's Daito Avatar resembles Washizu Taketoki, Toshiro Mfune's character from this movie
- War of the Worlds: Nolan Sorrento and i-R0k's meeting takes place in the wreckage of a Marian ship.
- WarGames: One of the computers in Halliday's childhood bedroom is an IMSAI 8080. A WarGames poster can be seen Displayed at the Overlook Theater outside of The Shining Simulation.
- Weird Science:The Rocket used in the Film can be seen sitting on a table in Aech's Apartment. A Weird Science Poster can be seen draped over a Chair in the Halliday Scholar Room. A VHS of the film can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- The Wolf Man: The Wolf Man from the 2010 remake is seen entering the OASIS. He appears on Planet Doom fighting against Daito and Sho. He's later seen watching Parzival's Broadcast. He's last seen during the final battle attempting to attack Art3mis.
- E.T: The Extra Terrestrial: A Halliday Scholar can be examining the Goodbye Scene on his computer and a VHS of the movie can be seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Batteries Not Included: The Tenement Building can be seen in the background of The Copper Key Race a VHS of the films is seen in Halliday's archived films.
- Flash Gordon (1980 Film): A Flash Gordon Poster can be seen displayed outside of the Overlook Theater in The Shining Simulation.
- The Burbs: The Film is Archived on VHS when The Curator projects films that Halliday has seen through his life.
- Monty Python: Meaning Of Life: Part of Halliday's archived VHS collection.
- Airplane!: A VHS cassette tape of Airplane! can both be seen on the floor in Aech's Apartment and as part of Halliday's archived films.
- The Neverending Story: The 1984 Film is written down as a clue for the Crystal Key in Samantha's Notebook.
- The Lost Boys: A VHS Of The Lost Boys is a part of Halliday's archived movie collection. The film's poster was also parodied for promotional material.
- Better Off Dead: it is written down as a Great Film in Halliday's Childhood Bedroom Recreation.
- Big Trouble in Little China: The 1985 Freightliner Truck can be spotted as an obstacle during the race for the Copper Key.
Comics/Literature
- 2000 A.D.: Art3mis uses Judge Dredd's Lawgiver as well as a Magnum Pistol from Halo during the shootout at the Distracted Globe.
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Miraz's Castle appears on a whiteboard behind the Halliday Scholars as a possible location for the third key challenge.
- DC Comics: A Wonder Woman sticker is seen on Art3mis' Akira bike. Two Wonder Woman patches (one of her logo and another of the character with her arms crossed) and a Supergirl patch appear on Helen's jacket. Deathstroke, Joker, and Harley Quinn are seen in the Distracted Globe. Supergirl appears at a table in Holliday Journals. Parzival disguises himself as Clark Kent. During the final battle, Joker appears as part of Spawn's clan, and Batgirl appears during the montage of player deaths caused by the Cataclyst. Aquaman, Blue Beetle, Deadshot, Flash, and Nightwing also appear during the final battle. A random person in Ohio is wearing a Flash T-shirt. Wade mentions Lex Luthor to Art3mis. Raven can be seen as graffiti on one of the Stacks buildings. Lobo is Supposedly is seen during the final battle
- Dune: While in Aech's workshop, Parzival talks to Art3mis about how quickly a Harkonenn Drop Ship can travel to Arrakis.
- Harry Potter: a Whiteboard behind the main redhead Halliday scholar lists Hogwarts Castle as a potential locations for the third challenge
- Hamlet: When i-R0k holds up The Steampunk Pirate's skull, he utters a variaton of the line Prince Hamlet delivers while holding Yorick's skull.
- Garfield: A Garfield sticker is seen inside Wade's hideout van.
- The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy: The clue to the third challenge mentions the ultimate number, which is 42 (as it is in the book). Shortly afterward, the movie's title appears among several others in Wade's notebook.
- Image Comics: Spawn leads one of the clans in the final battle.
- The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf is seen in the Distracted Globe. A Cave Troll can be during the final battle in the Oasis. Aech uses an Orc as his selected Oasis avatar. The Battle of Helm's Deep is scribbled in Wade's notebook. A whiteboard behind a female Halliday Scholar lists Isengard, Hornburg and Minas the names of potential locations for the third challenge.
- Marvel Comics: Peter Parker and Bruce Banner are mentioned by Parzival.
- Nancy Drew: While searching through Sorrento's files, Art3mis stumbles across his copy of "The Complete Nancy Drew."
- The War of the Worlds: Nolan Sorrento and i-R0k's meeting takes place in the wreckage of a Marian ship.
- Watchmen: A Watchmen Smiley can be seen as a sticker in Wade's hideout van.
Contemporary
- Apple: A Macintosh computer is in Wade's possession while he's in his hideout.
- Ask Jeeves: The Curator is a robotic version of the web site's mascot.
- Bigfoot: Aech drives the vehicle on the OASIS racetrack. It's inspired by Bigfoot 8.
- Big Trak: The toy can be seen in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Charleston Chew: A wrapper of the snack can be seen on the floor in Wade's Van.
- Care Bears: A girls contains a Grumpy Bear plushie.
- Cap'n Crunch: A Cap'n Crunch box is sitting at the bar where Parzival and Aech talk about Art3mis.
- Cheetos: A packet of Cheetos can be seen on the floor in Wade's Van.
- Chuck E. Cheese: Parzival says Halliday's favorite restaurant was Chuck E. Cheese.
- Dungeons & Dragons: A twenty-sided die pin appears on Holliday's lapel during his will & testament video. Despite its name, the Orb of Osuvox is also in the shape of a twenty-sided die. There's also a Dungeons & Dragons store in the OASIS Mall. The back door of Helen's van features the demonic face from The Tomb of Horrors (which was the location of the first key challenge in the book). During his rallying speech, Parzival mentions the Goldmines of Gygax, a reference to the game's co-creator Gary Gygax. Among I-Rok's goods is a Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules, set 1. In Halliday's childhood bedroom there is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition Dungeon Masters Screen.
- Emoji: When Aech shoots an OASIS user in the PVP Zone an Emoji pops out of him along with credits. A crying emoji can be seen as an Avatar when Wade enters Halliday Journals.
- Etch A Sketch: It can be seen in Halliday Journals on a video of Halliday playing his Atari 2600. It can also be seen again in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Fruit Loops/Rocks: A Halliday Scholar can be seen examining the Cereal on his Computer.
- Garbage Pail Kids: Lots of Garbage Pail Kids cards are stuck on the wall of Wade's hideout in The Stacks. A Clark Can't/Nat Nerd Sticker is stuck on the wall in Helen's postal van.
- Hello Kitty: The titular character, Kerropi, and Badtz-Maru can be briefly seen in the Oasis. A sticker decal of the titular character can also be seen on Art3mis' bike. Hello Kitty can be seen sitting on a table in Halliday Journals.
- Hot Pockets: An IOI Drone can briefly be seen delivering the food to a stacks person.
- Hot Wheels: A part of The Oasis Copper Key race includes a Hot Wheels-inspired ramp.
- Lazer Tag: The 1980s Lazer Tag game can be seen in Aech's garage. Parzival also draws a starlight pistol when he and Art3mis are ambushed in the Distracted Globe .
- Lego: The Battle Mech is seen at the Distracted Globe and later in the final battle
- Madballs: Repville appears as graffiti on the side of one of the Stacks buildings. Art3mis throws a bomb in the image of Dust Brain into Mechagodzilla's cockpit. Dust Brain can be seen in an Artifact Auction in Avatar Outfitters.
- M&M's: An M&M's wrapper an be seen on the floor in Wade's Stacks hideout.
- Magic 8 Ball: A camera resembling a Magic 8 Ball is used to record Parzival's broadcast.
- Nerf: A Nerf blaster can be seen in Aech's garage. There's also a Nerf kiosk is the OASIS Mall.
- Pizza Hut: A drone delivers some Pizza Hut food to people in the stacks.
- Rubik's Cube: The Zemeckis Cube, an object which Parzival buys in the OASIS Mall and uses in the Distracted Globe, is based on this.
- Simon: The game is seen as a pin on James Halliday's jacket. The game also appears next to a young Halliday while he's building his first computer, and again in his childhood bedroom.
- Tab: The now discontinued soft drink is mentioned by Sorrento while trying to impress Wade.
- Tootsie Pop: During his initial meeting with Sorrento i-R0k's references the candy company's TV commercials.
- Twitch: Parzival says he's seen all of Art3mis’ Twitch streams when seeing her during the race.
- Warhammer 40,000: an Eldar Warrior is seen during the final battle. When the Halliday Scholars are brainstorming possible locations for the third challenge, Angran's Castle is listed on a whiteboard as one of many possible locations for the third challenge.
TV Shows/Cartoons
- ALF: A 1986 ALF toy is seen on the back corner shelf of Aech's apartment.
- The A-Team: The A-Team van is seen as one of the vehicles in the OASIS racetrack. It's driver is one of the Halo Elites. A toy version of the A-Team van can be seen in a Halliday Journals video of him on his Atari 2600.
- Batman (1966 series): The Batmobile from the show is seen as one of the vehicles in the OASIS racetrack and later appears sliding off the road, skidding to the tune of the show's theme song.
- Battlestar Galactica: While in Aech's workshop, Wade shows Art3mis Aech's copy of the titular spacecraft. A Colonial Viper fighter is also visible in the workshop. During the final battle, Parzival uses a blaster from the series to zero Art3mis. Colonial Force Patches can be seen on Helen's Jacket. A colonial blaster is among the lot around the Orb.
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: A Thunderfighter appears in Aech's garage.
- Cowboy Bebop: The Swordfish 2 can be seen on the official poster for Ready Player One. A miniature version of Swordfish 2 can be seen on the work table of Aech's garage. The Spiders from Mars is also one of OASIS interest place, that Parzival called the Casino.
- Dr. Who: A TARDIS appears in Aech's garage. While Parzival is disguising himself as Clark Kent, Art3mis holds up two of the Tenth Doctor's suits.
- Exo Squad: A PO-024 Field Repair E-frame appears in Aech's garage and later during the final battle on Planet Doom. The Aerial Attack E-frame can be seen during the final battle firing at Sixers as Art3mis finishes climbing the IOI spider
- Firefly: Daito is seen arriving at the final battle on Serenity. Earlier on Parzival is seen arriving to The Distracted Globe in the Serenity
- Fraggle Rock: An image of the show can be seen briefly on a box containing miniature ships inside Aech's workshop.
- Garfield And Friends: Stickers from The Cartoon can be seen stuck to the wall of Wade's Van.
- He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe: Wade puts his glasses on a Vintage He-Man Lunchbox. Inside of Halliday Journals, Parzival passes a recreation of young Halliday in his room and next to the TV is a Castle Grayskull Playset. He-Man appears in the final battle as part of Spawn's clan.
- Knight Rider: Parzival's DeLorean is outfitted with KITT. KITT also appears as a car on the racetrack. A Knight Rider poster appears on the wall in Halliday's childhood bedroom recreation.
- Looney Tunes: Marvin the Martian appears running out of an entry portal when Wade is introducing the OASIS, appears again in Halliday Journals, and makes a final appearance as a toy form in James Halliday's childhood bedroom. A Looney Tunes shop can be seen in the OASIS Mall with a hologram of Marvin.
- Lost In Space: When Halliday tries to find the Easter Egg in his childhood bedroom he picks up a toy of the B-9 Robot.
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The RX-78-2 Gundam mech is seen during the final battle in the Oasis.
- The Muppet Show: A stuffed Kermit the Frog can be seen sitting on a box in Aech's apartment.
- Schoolhouse Rock: The clue to the third challenge references the song "Three is the Magic Number."
- Sesame Street: A Cookie Monster Cookie Jar can be seen on the table in Aech's apartment when Wade tries on the Purple Rain outfit.
- Speed Racer: The Mach 5 is one of the vehicles in the Oasis racetrack.
- Star Trek: In Anorak's Invitation video, it is shown James Halliday having a Star Trek-themed funeral complete with a photon torpedo casing as a coffin and flowers arranged in the shape of the Starfleet logo and the Enterprise. A bat'leth sits on the windowsill of Wade and Samantha's apartment. A Star Trek: The Motion Picture poster can be seen in Wade and Samantha's apartment.
- Thundercats: Parzival wears a Han Solo belt with the Thundercats logo on the buckle. There's also a Lion-O patch next to the Wonder Woman logo on Helen's jacket.
- Transformers (1984 Cartoon): Optimus Prime in his G1 Variant can be seen charging towards Castle Anorak when Avatars run over the hill on Planet Doom. Megatron can be seen as a selectable mech on the Mech Selection List that Sorrento chooses from. Cybertron is seen when the OASIS is first shown.
- Voltron: Planet Doom is referenced several times throughout the film, and is the setting of both Aech's PVP fight and the final battle. The Black Lion appears during the final battle.
Music/Musicians
- A-ha: An orchestral version of "Take On Me" is played in the "Dreamers" film trailer. "Take On Me" is also Halliday's favorite music video.
- Akira Ifukube: A remixed version of "Godzilla Main Title" plays when Sorrento summons Mechagodzilla.
- Alan Silvestri: "Back to the Future Theme" is played after Parzival using Zemeckis Cube, the theme also heard in the trailer when the screen says "March 30"
- The Bee Gees: "Stayin' Alive" is played during Parzival and Art3mis' dance routine.
- Bad Brains: A stitched embroidering of the Bad Brains logo of their debut album (a building in D.C. being struck by lightning) is on the punk-inspired jacket, where the Dead Kennedys logo is seen on it's back.
- Blondie: "One Way or Another" plays when Parzival returns to Halliday Journals after collecting the copper key.
- Billy Idol: His Mony Mony album appears on Halliday's desk when he's telling Morrow about his date with Karen.
- Bruce Springsteen: "Stand On It" is played during Parzival and Aech visiting OASIS Mall.
- The Buggles: While Art3mis and Parzival are talking in Aech's garage they mention that "Video Killed The Radio Star" is Halliday's favorite song.
- Dead Kennedys: The band's logo appears on the back of the punk outfit Parzival tries on before his date. Later, two Dead Kennedys patches appear on the front of Helen's jacket.
- Depeche Mode: "World In My Eyes" is played at the official trailer of Ready Player One, but instead using the original version, the trailer using the Cicada Mix version.
- Devo: The bartender at the Distracted Globe is wearing a Devo hat. A poster of the band can be seen in Halliday's childhood bedroom.
- Duran Duran: Before going to the Distracted Globe, Parzival tries out a suit worn by Nick Rhodes in one of the band's better-known publicity photos. Sorrento later tells Wade that he likes to relax by drinking Tab, playing Robotron, and listening to Duran Duran.
- Earth Wind & Fire: "Can't Hide Love" plays when Art3mis ask Parzival for a date (?) in the Distracted Globe.
- Gene Wilder: An orchestral version of "Pure Imagination" plays in the Comic-Con film trailer and another composed by Ghostwriter in the "Come with Me" trailer.
- George Michael: "Faith" is played when Parzival first enters Halliday Journals.
- Hall & Oates: "You Make My Dreams Come True" is played during the credits. Spielberg selected it after learning it was the song that Ernest Cline and his wife walked down the aisle to at their wedding.
- Joan Jett: "I Hate Myself For Loving You" plays before the OASIS race begins.
- Johann Sebastian Bach: "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" plays while Halliday rises from his coffin to recite his will.
- Joy Division: When Wade first meets Art3mis/Samantha in real life, she's wearing a Joy Division shirt.
- Michael Jackson: Parzival tries out Michael Jackson's Thriller outfit before going to the Distracted Globe.
- New Order: "Blue Monday" is played at the Distracted Globe when Parzival enters and meets Art3mis there. Toward the end of the film, Ms. Gilmore is seen wearing a shirt with the cover art for Technique.
- Pink Floyd: Marching hammers are seen in the final battle.
- The Police: Ms. Gilmore wears a shirt with the cover art of the album Synchronicity.
- Prince: Before going to the Distracted Globe, Parzival tries out Prince's Purple Rain outfit.
- Run-DMC - Tougher Than Leather: The album by the hip-hop trio is seen in vinyl format on the basket on the floor where Parzival tries out different outfits.
- RUSH: "Tom Sawyer" can be heard during one of the trailers for Ready Player One. A poster of the album and a vinyl album itself appears in James Halliday's childhood bedroom. Helen wears a 2112 shirt.
- Tears for Fears: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" plays when Parzival telling about Halliday's history about making the OASIS.
- The Temptations: "Just My Imagination" plays in Aech's garage.
- Twisted Sister: "We're Not Gonna Take It" is heard during the final battle when Parzival plays it out of a boombox.
- Van Halen: "Jump" opens up the movie when Wade is climbing down the stacks.
- Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind: "The Shining Theme" plays when the High Five's entering "The Shining" simulation for the second key.
References/Gallery
.jpg "Screenshot 20210529-201045 Fast Movie (1).jpg (37 KB)")
.jpg "Screenshot 20210529-201110 Fast Movie (1).jpg (38 KB)")
.jpg "20210516 031354 (1).jpg (17 KB)")
Sub-pages
Ready Player One/Dialogue (film)
Trivia
- Ernest Cline's birthday is March 29, the same date the film Ready Player One was released in the United States.
- In an interview with several media, Steven Spielberg said that Ready Player One was the third most difficult movie he has made on his career, besides Jaws (1975) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
- The sixer vehicles have QR codes on their bonnets that, when scanned, lead to http://www.jointhequest.io; the Innovative Online Industries recruitment site.
- Movie concept art of Ready Player One were by Eduardo Pena, Emmanuel Shiu, Valentin Petrov, Ulrich Zeidler and Gaëlle Seguillon
- The WarGames Simulation featured in the Novel was actually seriously considered early on but got scrapped since it wouldn't fit right.
- Steven Spielberg described that he wanted the musical score for when Wade first dives into the OASIS in the movie to be "religioso". To achieve this Spielberg and film composer Alan Silvestri draw inspiration from the film's second clue and looked into what "Easter Egg" was in Latin ("Ovum patris tui"). Liking the concept the musical score was accompanied by a choir reciting the film's second clue in Latin with the chorus being "Father's egg, Easter egg, find me, come find me."
- Written Down in Samantha's Notebook is an option for a Vehicle for the Copper Key Race: Deckard's Spinner this is one of the few Blade Runner References beside Wade and Toshiro's Replicant Eyes During Sorrento's interogation and a Blade Runner VHS Cassette Tape Archived at Halliday Journals.
- Items included in I-r0k's pile of loot are Perseus's Shield from the 1980 film Clash Of The Titans, VHS cassette tapes of Scarface, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and Sledge's shotgun from the 2012 video game Borderlands 2.
- Films archived at Halliday Journals include Back To The Future and Back To The Future: Part II, E.T: the Extra-Terrestrial, Breakfast Club, Firestarter, The Fly (1986 remake), Say Anything..., Blade Runner, Risky Business, Arthur, all the Richard Donner Superman movies, and more.