With Ready Player One, director Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. have pulled off a film that should have been virtually impossible to make. They adapted author Ernest Cline’s 2011 Easter egg-filled novel of the same name, and somehow did so with the blessings of nearly every major studio and video game publisher. So, if you doubted that favorite moments from the book featuring pop-culture icons might make it to the screen, you may be surprised. Now, regardless of whether you’re a fan of the novel or merely a geek stoked to see this spectacle, what many viewers undoubtedly want to know is, will I miss anything if I don’t stay until the credits end?
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The short answer is, no. There is no after-credits scene, mid-credits scene, or what we are referring to as the after-logo scene (just wait, it'll catch on). That should come as little surprise, because Spielberg has never included that kind of stinger in his previous films. The closest he came was executive producing 1985's Young Sherlock Holmes, which has an extra scene that runs the duration of the credits. Considering Spielberg is known for breaking new ground as a filmmaker, it makes sense he wouldn’t follow the latest trend.
Here’s the thing, though: In a movie that revolves around Easter eggs, one last ‘80s nod after the Amblin Entertainment logo would have been fitting. Spielberg wanted to keep his own creations out of the film but, come on, an E.T. or Indiana Jones tag could have been the icing on the cake. It’s too bad Deadpool already did a send-up of the stinger from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, because there are no fewer than three references to the John Hughes’ 1986 comedy classic in Ready Player One, and getting to see the villainous I-Rok in real life telling us, “It’s over, go home,” would have been perfect.
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While Marvel Studios’ films can be credited with reinvigorating post-credits scenes, their history can be traced back to the 1903 silent movie The Great Train Robbery. They experienced some popularity in the late 1970s and into the '80s with releases Airplane!, The Muppet Movie and the aforementioned Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But 2008's Iron Man, which launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wasn't even the first stinger to feature a Marvel Comics character; that honor goes to 2003's Daredevil, which gave us a look at Bullseye in a full body cast after credits rolled.
In theaters March 29, Ready Player One is produced and directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Win Morisaki, Lena Waithe, Hannah John-Kamen, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Ben Mendelsohn, TJ Miller and Ralph Ineson.