Warning: minor SPOILERS for Ready Player One are ahead!
While the majority of Ready Player One's pop culture references are 1980s-related, there are a few other decades also being in the Steven Spielberg-directed movie. The Iron Giant and Jurassic Park's T-rex are among the 1990s elements, and the 2000s are also getting a little love. For instance, some of you might have noticed the Spartans from Halo running around in a preview or two, but as we're less than 24 hours way from Ready Player One opening wide, one particularly cool Firefly cameo has been spotted in a TV commercial. If you pay attention to the gif below, you'll see that the ship swooping by is a Firefly-class transport ship that hails from the cult TV series.
As most of you reading already know, the majority of Ready Player One's action takes place within the OASIS, the virtual world where many folks in 2044 spend their time due to the real world being so depressing. Once inside the OASIS, the possibilities are endless, and this includes establishing a zero-gravity night club. Numerous space ships are traveling to The Distracted Globe, but one eagle-eyed Redditor noticed that the ship that flies by the giant words in this Ready Player One TV spot is the same kind of ship (as seen below) that Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew rode around in during Firefly, although we can't say for sure if it's the Serenity.
Firefly only lasted one season on Fox, but it didn't take long for the TV series to become a sci-fi favorite, Three years after they were taken off their air, the Firefly characters returned for the theatrically-released Serenity, and the franchise has continued through comics and novels. Now we know that Firefly will receive some representation in Ready Player One, even if it is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. But hey, that's how most of the movie's pop culture references are sprinkled in.
Other notable space ships that appear in this Ready Player One TV spot include an X-Wing and Lambda-class Imperial shuttle from the Star Wars movies, as well as a Colonial viper from Battlestar Galactica. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of vehicles, characters and other elements from beloved movies, TV shows and video games that are being incorporated into Ready Player One. It's a lot to take in, and needless to say that when the movie arrives on home media, it will be worth going through frame by frame to spot as many Easter eggs as possible.
Ready Player One opens wide to the public tomorrow, March 29, with preview screenings kicking off tonight. Don't forget to read CinemaBlend's review of the movie, and check out our 2018 release schedule to learn what other major motion pictures are on the way.
