Ready Player One: Every Pop Culture Reference In The Trailer

From Freddy Krueger to the Iron Giant.

By Mark Langshaw /

Ready Player One has debuted its first trailer, and it features more pop culture references than the back catalogues of Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino combined.

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Steven Spielberg's latest movie is based on the popular sci-fi novel by Ernst Cline, which takes place in a virtual world created by an eccentric, pop culture-obsessed genius with a massive Willy Wonka complex.

Okay, so that's not strictly accurate - the book is actually set in a dystopian world, but its inhabitants have a means of escape in the form of an immersive VR video game called OASIS, a place where players can be anything they want to be.

Given that we've all dreamed of becoming our favourite superhero, movie star or video game protagonist at some point, Ready Player One has pop culture reference strewn across every page, and the movie is no exception from the look of things.

Securing the rights to feature all of those likenesses must have been an absolute nightmare, but there's little Spielberg can't do, so naturally the footage which debuted at Comic-Con is alive with '80s and '90s icons.

When Ready Player One lands in March next year, cinemas will be filled with cries of 'oh look, it's whatshisname' as that's pretty much been the reaction to the trailer, which can be watched over and over with new easter eggs emerging each time.

10. The Iron Giant

You can't really miss him, can you?

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The Iron Giant's towering cameo in the Ready Player One trailer is the easiest to spot, given the sheer size of the metal behemoth and how distinctive he is.

Steven Spielberg has confirmed that the Giant will be a major character in the movie, which is great news considering the original Brad Bird movie is hugely underrated.

A shadowy ninja with a pair of katana blades can be seen to the left of the giant, but nobody has the slightest idea who this is just yet.

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