The Steven Spielberg movie Ready Player One is a highly-anticipated movie based on a popular book. While the movie may be great, the official posters were not well received. The posters are dripping with nostalgia. Each one features Wade Watts, the main protagonist of the book, inside of other classic and popular movies from many years past. As a concept, this is not that crazy, especially considering that the protagonist is actually featured going into other entertainment properties, like The Matrix.

The main problem, however, is that the posters just look like not much care was taken to make them sharp. Many have pointed out that they look like weak examples of photoshopping a person into an old poster. That is certainly the case with this what-were-they-thinking replica of the original Matrix poster.

Others have noted that Warner Brothers is cynically exploiting nostalgia for other films in order to sell a new one. The posters include references to Bullitt, The Iron Giant, Rambo and Risky Business. Moreover, the posters seem to gloss over the fact that The Iron Giant and Rambo are complex movies with serious themes.

Paul Blart, Mall Cop – Fan Homage

Thankfully, fans of the book have saved the day by creating their own versions of the movie posters. The idea became a popular meme on film Twitter, resulting in examples like Ready Mall Cop One, by the legendary internet presence, Darth.

Here are a few more examples of the official posters and the ones created by fans:

Labyrinth – Official Poster

The official poster featuring a mashup of Ready Player One and the David Bowie movie Labyrinth excited many fans who are now wondering if the movie will incorporate the iconic Bowie flick.

The Iron Giant – Official Poster

We think the actual marketing team managed to skillfully photoshop the poster for the movie Iron Giant to display the Ready Player One protagonist. Whoever made this may have done a better job than the creative professionals who put together that debacle of a Matrix poster. (The Iron Giant is believed to feature prominently in the actual Ready Player One movie, as is the classic Back to the Future.)

Twins – Fan Homage


Twitter user “anand” made this poster after the movie Twins, which features Danny Devito and a pregnant Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

Mac and Me – Fan Homage

Scott Wampler, editor over at Birth.Film.Death, had fun with the concept by creating a parody of the film Mac and Me.


Kes – Fan Homage

Pablo Diablo Bonzo, known as @PabloBonzo on Twitter, contributed his version of the movie Kes. “They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him.. They broke his heart. But they couldn’t break his spirit.”

The Crying Game and Straw Dogs – Fan Homage

Twitter user Menthol Moose made two more examples of what he hoped to see in the Ready Player One film. The first one is for The Crying Game, and the second is for the film Straw Dogs. Both are adult-oriented films, which pokes fun at the strange way that the official posters chose to incorporate very violent films like Rambo.