With the Comic-Con trailer dropped for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, blowing the doors off of Hall H in San Diego, the director confirmed that a few of the dozens of pop culture references will play a big role in the pop culture blockbuster, in particular, the Iron Giant.

The most impressive element of the Ready Player One trailer, and the thing that makes it an appealing property to adapt to the big screen format in the first place, are the dozens of pop culture references peppered throughout the OASIS. When players enter the VR OASIS, they can encounter an endless amount of familiar faces and props, and the brief teaser trailer already features references to recognizable icons like Freddy Kreuger, the DeLorean, and Harley Quinn. One of the most memorable images from the teaser features The Iron Giant, standing tall backlit by a blue light as he scans the horizon majestically within the frame.

When asked at the Q&A following the screening of the trailer in Hall H, Spielberg confirmed that the striking image of the Iron Giant is more than just an Easter Egg, but that the character will play a large role in the film:

Brad Bird’s 1999 animated classic The Iron Giant pays a lot of homage to E.T., so it feels almost full circle that this newest Spielberg film is so in tune with the pop culture zeitgeist. In fact, it would be reasonable to expect a lot of meta references either directly or indirectly paying tribute to the works of the legendary director. Ernest Cline’s book is all about the meta nature and relationship between pop culture and reality, so it would not even be too distracting.

“The Iron Giant is a real major player in the story.”

This also makes one wonder if the relationship between Tye Sheridan’s Wade Watts and the Iron Giant is similar to that of the relationship in the original film between the giant and Hogarth Hughes. There’s not much to go on besides the image in the trailer, as the reveal is fresh enough that follow-ups haven’t been asked yet. We’ll surely learn more as Ready Player One approaches closer to its March 2018 release.

Next: Spielberg’s Ready Player One Changes Could Make For a Better Movie

Source: Steven Spielberg

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