Are you ready for Ready Player One?

Warner Bros. Pictures has now released a new trailer for Spielberg’s adaptation. It is packed with shiny visuals, as well as cameos by famous ’80s and ’90s pop cult icons that reside within OASIS. The trailer also delves deeper than its predecessor into Wade Watts’ story and touches upon his relationship with another frequent OASIS player, in the form of Samantha Evelyn Cook (Olivia Cooke)  – better known by her user name, Art3mis.

In addition to Sheridan, Cooke, and Rylance – who won an Oscar for his performance in Spielberg’s historical drama Bridge of Spies and then starred in the filmmaker’s Roald Dahl adaptation The BFG.

We also have Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), as well as T.J. Miller (Deadpool), Simon Pegg (Star Trek Beyond), Hannah John-Kamen (Killjoys), and Letitia Wright (Black Panther) in either leading roles or as key supporting players in the movie’s version of OASIS.

80s and ’90s nostalgia is certainly more common than ever in pop culture right now, be it on TV (Stranger Things) or the big screen (IT, Power Rangers, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle).

Whereas Cline’s source material is, for better or worse, a straightforward boy’s sci-fi/fantasy adventure that thrives on references to historical pop culture, Spielberg himself has expressed a desire to elevate Ready Player One into a more layered piece of storytelling. Rylance, for his part, has indicated that the director succeeded at doing just that, calling the movie a “very, very complex film”

After logging in, we see Wade entering a room where a grand party is going on. Leaving as he comes in are two DC Comics icons. Deathstroke and Harley Quinn.

The Iron Giant

Above: Wade and another player with the Iron Giant from the animated film of the same name. Spielberg claims that the Giant plays a major role in the film.

The DeLorean

Another splash in time, 80s The DeLorean roars into view, racing the streets.

While Spielberg himself has a long history of delivering great popcorn entertainment that combines thrills with brains and heart, he has strayed away from such blockbusters in recent years to focus more like Bridge of Spies. The trailers for Ready Player One focus more on the whiz-bang action and sleek visuals of the film than its substance, which only makes sense from a marketing perspective.

Culturedemandsgeeks wonders if Ready Player One succeeds in capturing some of that old Spielberg magic in more ways than one.