Ready Player One is all about Easter eggs, not least of which are Back to the Future Easter eggs, which the movie liberally sprinkles throughout its runtime. The McGuffin in Ready Player One’s plot is an Easter egg itself, a golden one, and while the characters are seeking that Easter egg, audiences find themselves looking for metaphorical Easter eggs scattered all the way through the movie. In fact, it is one of the biggest aspects of the film, and also one of its biggest draws, as it is incredibly exciting to see everything packed into every nook and cranny of the film, helping it become a mᴀssive box office success.

In a dystopian 2045, teenage orphan Wade Watts seeks to find the golden Easter egg in the virtual reality entertainment universe called the O.A.S.I.S. or Oasis (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation). The gamer who finds the golden Easter egg gets granted complete control over the Oasis, which is exactly what the avatars inside the Oasis are striving for. Ironically, the film is littered with metaphorical Easter eggs throughout, seven of which are solid nods to the Back to the Future series. With Ready Player Two in development, but not officially greenlit, it is fun to look back on the first film’s iconic inspirations.

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The Opening Track Is Jump By Van Halen

Marty McFly’s Favorite Guitarist

As the movie opens, the audience sees Wade leaving his home in Columbus, Ohio. It’s a dystopian version of 2045, and everyone lives in what’s called The Stacks, which are shanty villages that were constructed on the outskirts of most major cities during the rise of the global energy crisis.

As Wade makes his way down from his elevated home in The Stacks, jumping from one platform to the next, the track playing in the background is “Jump” by Van Halen. Van Halen was Marty McFly’s favorite guitarist, as shown in Back to the Future, as he places a Van Halen tape into his dad’s cᴀssette player.

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The Avatar Of Doc Brown Shows Up In The Oasis Opening Scene

A Nod To One Of Doc Brown’s Best Looks

The Oasis is the virtual reality in which Parzival resides, Wade’s virtual avatar. Among him are many other avatars, most of which are Easter eggs and references to other video games and pop culture. At one early stage in the film, one such avatar is seen in the background, behind Parzival, showing a man dressed in exactly the same outfit as Doc Brown was wearing in Back to the Future Part II.

The avatar was wearing a long yellow jacket, a bright red shirt underneath, light brown pants, and silver wraparound video glᴀsses, which, in Back to the Future, were sunglᴀsses containing an internal video display.

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The Back To The Future DeLorean Is Parzival’s Choice Of Vehicle In The Oasis

One Of Film’s Most Iconic Vehicles

After it’s learned by the characters that the now-deceased James Halliday has set challenges for gamers to try and conquer, Parzival decides to take on the so-called unbeatable race, which is the first of Halliday’s challenges. As Parzival gears himself up for the race, we see a number of virtual vehicles lined up and ready to embark on the impossible race, including a Bigfoot monster truck, Kaneda’s bike from Akira, the Batmobile, and the Ford Interceptor from Mad Max 2.

Parzival’s choice of vehicle, however, is none other than the DeLorean time machine, one of the most iconic movie vehicles of all time. The car is fitted out appropriately, too, with the signature external cables.

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Art3mis Refers To Parzival As McFly After The Race In The Oasis

An On-The-Nose Reference

After this race, Parzival and Art3mis retire to Aech’s workshop, where there are many references and Easter eggs littered around the place. One such Easter egg (which is verbally delivered and so on-the-nose it’s virtually impossible to miss) is when Art3mis refers to Parzival as McFly.

This is an obvious reference to Marty McFly from Back to the Future, who, of course, drives a DeLorean just like Parzival did in the previous race. It’s a scene that sees Parzival and Art3mis flirting, too, giving the sequence a romantic edge, and considering Marty McFly was something of a heartthrob, it’s a moment that helps the flirtatious spark along.

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The Zemeckis Cube Helps Parzival Turn Back Time

Robert Zemeckis Directed The Back To The Future Trilogy

Wade and Art3mis visit the Distracted Globe nightclub to look for clues on how to conquer Halliday’s challenges. It’s here where Wade confesses his love and true name to Art3mis. Startling Art3mis, and alerting their enemies, this revelation encourages a backlash of advancing ᴀssailants on their location. Under attack, Parzival takes it upon himself to use an item he just recently bought.

It’s a Rubik’s Cube, which, once activated and thrown into the air, instantly turns back time by 60 seconds, allowing them time to escape. The item is called the Zemeckis Cube, with Robert Zemeckis, of course, being the director of all three Back to the Future films.

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Alan Silvestri Includes His Back To The Future Score At Moments

The Iconic Composer Of The Back To The Future Theme

Usually, directors have composers whom they tend to pair up with throughout their projects, and Steven Spielberg usually has John Williams partnering with him in his cinematic pursuits. Alan Silvestri is the composer of the famous Back to the Future theme, who usually scores alongside director Robert Zemeckis. Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg, was scored, however, by Alan Silvestri.

At the precise moment, Parzival completes the Rubik’s Cube and activates its time-rewinding power, the famous score from Back to the Future arrives right on cue. It’s only for a few moments, but it’s a powerful, spine-tingling point in time for any Back to the Future fan to relish in a moment that’s an honorable nod to the great Robert Zemeckis, director of the Back to the Future trilogy. Two parts of the original Back to the Future score are used at this moment: the bᴀssy three-note signature riff, along with the magical-sounding tune used at the very beginning of Back to the Future.

The Back to the Future score also appears at the end of the film when Sorrento and F’Nale are in the back of the police car, having been arrested. Sorrento goes to speak to F’Nale, saying “F’Nale, listen to me very carefully”, before F’Nale punches him in the face. It’s such a satisfying moment to see Sorrento get whacked in the nose, just like it was when Biff finally got hit by a newly redeemed George McFly. The music cue that occurs is a quick riff, extremely similar to the moment in Back to the Future, marking a similarity between the two scenes when the villain gets his comeuppance.

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Poster Reads ‘Re-Elect Mayor Goldie Wilson’ (Hill Valley’s Mayor From BTTF)

A Small Nod That Shows The Level Of Detail

There is also one last Back to the Future Easter egg in Ready Player One, and it’s such a small one that it’s rather easy to miss. When Parzival is once again in Aech’s workshop, there is a moment when a poster is shown on the wall beside Parzival. The poster shows Mayor Goldie Wilson, and pleads with any onlooker to re-elect him as Mayor of Hill Valley. Small Easter eggs like this just show the level of detail that Steven Spielberg and crew put into Ready Player One, channeling the source material novel to great effect for moments like that.

Other Movies, Games & Shows To Get Multiple Easter Eggs In Ready Player One

Given that the entire premise of Ready Player One is built on a virtual reality world filled with Easter eggs and iconic IP, Back to the Future isn’t the only franchise to have multiple nods to it in the film. The Alien franchise, in particular, has several nods, with a number of them coming from Aliens, including the U.S.S. Sulaco drop ship and Ripley’s gun. Even a chestburster makes an appearance in Ready Player One.

With Ready Player One being a Warner Bros. film, the movie is also heavy on references to the IP they own, with DC Comics in particular getting several nods throughout the movie. Among these are Michael Keaton’s Batman, references to Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise, Teen тιтans, Harley Quinn, and more. Alongside Alien and DC, Ready Player One also heavily features The Shining in one section of the plot, with the characters experiencing moments from the iconic horror film. There is no shortage of references and Easter Eggs in Ready Player One.