The first look at legendary director Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One introduces everyone to the confines of the film’s VR world. Based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline, Spielberg is ready to make another fantastical adventure. Ready Player One stars Tye Sheridan (Mud, X-Men: Apocalypse) as Wade Watts aka Parzival, a young kid fascinated with the ’80s. In this dystopian world, Parzival utilizes the latest in virtual reality to disappear from the real, troubled world he lives in.

This VR experience is known as OASIS and was created by James Halliday (Mark Rylance) as a final gift to the world. In the story, whichever character can solve all the ’80s-themed riddles and quests in OASIS will be rewarded handsomely by not just winning the game, but also inheriting Halliday’s entire company, Gregarious Games. While we’re still waiting to get a look inside OASIS, the first photo for Ready Player One shows an outside perspective of Parzival experiencing it.

EW has released the first image for Spielberg’s latest, featuring Sheridan front and center as he sports his VR visor and haptic gloves. This technology and what Sheridan’s in-game avatar possess are highly coveted in this world, forcing Watts to take up shop in an old van. This is the location of the first photo - and just like the VR world Watts is experiencing, this image has a few references to the decade our lead character is so enamored with.

In a separate article from EW, they revealed a few ’80s Easter eggs that can already be spotted in this image alone. On the left of the image (mixed in with various newspaper clippings and magazine covers) is a red cover of Wired featuring Rylance as Halliday. On the right of the image, fans can spot a blue lunchbox. Book readers may be hoping it is Star Trek-themed just like the book, but it is actually one for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. There are also small stickers for Garfield and Garbage Pail Kids featured in the upper right of the image.

These are only a few of surely many ’80s inspired Easter eggs that will be seen in the film. Spielberg has already made it clear that any property he was involved in will not be included in the film version of Ready Player One, with the lone exception being made for the inclusion of Back to the Future’s Delorean. These won’t be the only changes Spielberg makes in translating the book to film, as Ben Mendelsohn’s Nolan Sorrento is not faithful to the book.

However, given Spielberg’s track record throughout his career, there is little reason to believe whatever changes he made were not in an attempt to enhance the story and experience for the big screen. With Ready Player One also slated to have a presence at San Diego Comic-Con next weekend, those interested in the project should expect to know more shortly.

More: Alan Silvestri is Scoring Ready Player One

Source: EW

  • Ready Player One Release Date: 2018-03-29