Ready Player One is a 2011 novel by Ernest Cline about a boy who engages in a virtual scavenger hunt in the future. The story, which was adapted into a movie in 2018, references dozens of entertainment properties from the 1980s including Back to the Future, Star Wars, Pac-Man, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Stephen King, Douglas Adams, and The Lord of the Rings, among many, many others.
Mentions[]
- Book
- A character in the book, Kira Underwood, was born Karen Underwood, but insisted on being called Kira ever since seeing The Dark Crystal.
- Broadcasting from a virtual environment, software mogul James Donovan Halliday takes on the appearance of his younger self in the 1970s wearing a Muppet Show t-shirt.
- Protagonist Wade Watts describes being raised on OASIS software in a virtual reality simulation of Sesame Street, "singing songs with friendly Muppets."
- Watts studies a book called "Anorak's Almanac" which references Halliday's favorite media. Using this as a guide, he consumes several movies and TV shows, including every episode of The Muppet Show.
- Movie
- The marketing campaign for the movie featured a poster spoofing the Ted CoConis poster for Jim Henson's 1986 film Labyrinth.
- Aech's workshop contains a Fraggle Rock lunchbox where she keeps miniature vehicle parts.
- The workshop's living space is decorated with a Kermit the Frog doll, a Cookie Monster cookie jar, a poster for The Dark Crystal, and a VHS copy of Labyrinth on the floor.
Connections[]
- David Forman played a Hong Kong businessman
- Ralph Ineson played Rick
- Hannah John-Kamen played F'Nale Zandor
- Ben Mendelsohn played Sorrento
- Simon Pegg played Ogden Morrow
- Steven Spielberg directed and produced the film