Steven Spielberg has been trying to make READY PLAYER ONE into a movie for a while now, based on the book by Ernie Cline. Last summer we got our first look at the film thanks to San Diego Comic-Con 2017. Spielberg and Cline, along with co-screenwriter Zak Penn actually appeared at the show along with the film’s stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, T.J. Miller and Ben Mendelsohn, premiering a trailer that gave a taste of what to expect. As imaginative as the story already was, the trailer looked absolutely crazy. The idea of Spielberg directing a virtual reality movie is incredibly intriguing, so it should be quite an experience. The trailer after that looked even more insane, but nothing beats the newest trailer today, which shows even more of the film’s story, and again wows us with some absolutely insane visuals… including a better look at their inclusion of The Iron Giant! I have a feeling this is one of those cases where you could watch this frame by frame and still miss some of the intricate details. Check it out for yourself and tell us what you think in the comments below.
But before we get to that, let’s talk about the new poster above. Evoking the classic qualities of 1980s Drew Struzan-illustrated movie posters, artist Paul Shipper has turned in a beauty, and this is about as perfect of a one sheet design as you could get for a film like this… seriously, drink that in.
The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.