Ready Player One: 135 Easter Eggs & References Explained

Random References

Inevitably, there are a lot of Easter Eggs that don't really fit with other categories - they're just drawn from the world of pop culture...

42. Marvin The Martian

The young Halliday's bedroom has a cameo for a Marvin the Martian toy.

41. Citizen Kane

Given the similarities between the life of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane and Halliday (or at least how their films show their stories), it's not at all surprising that there are multiple references to Rosebud in terms of some of the things Halliday said before he died.

40. Gandalf

In the dance sequence within the Distracted Globe, there are some pretty recognisable figures, but one of the best is definitely Gandalf who cuts some smart shapes while floating in mid-air.

39. Last Action Hero

The art department also included at least one Easter Egg for the screenwriters. The Last Action Hero's lead character “Jack Slater” (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) is featured on the banner outside a cinema during the first race. It's included in honour of Zak Penn, who co-wrote Ready Player One with Ernest Cline and whose first writing gig was on The Last Action Hero.

38. Smokey And The Bandit

When Daito finishes the race task, it's revealed that he completed it while driving Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and The Bandit (1977).

37. Battletoads

In the final battle sequence on Mount Doom, a whole team of Battletoads can be seen rushing across the battlefield to join the fight. The characters included are said to be Zitz, Pimple, and Rash, who were originally designed as a tongue-in-cheek parody of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.