Ready Player One could be considered a film ahead of its ti.
The story itself wasn't particularly captivating—it didn't rely on narrative to win over audiences. What it leaned on was sothing else entirely:
Easter eggs.
In gas and films, Easter eggs are hidden elents—sotis a special item or a scene left by the ga developer, or a subtle reference from a film director.
Sotis it's a tribute to soone. Other tis, it's just a clever nod to their own past work.
Take Tarantino, for example—a known foot fetishist. You'll never miss a foot shot in any of his films... well, maybe that's not the best example.
A better one might be the first recorded video ga Easter egg: a developer hid his na inside a secret room that could only be accessed by performing a specific set of actions. When players finally found it, they were stunned.
...
...
Normally, Easter eggs are just an add-on to entertainnt products.
But in Ready Player One, they were the core of the entire movie.
In its 100 minute runti, the film had hundreds of Easter eggs—nearly every second contained one.
For gars and pop culture fans, it was a festival. They didn't care much about the story—they were too busy spotting all the hidden gems.
However, in this world, The Shining by Kubrick didn't exist. So the second-act sequence would need to be changed. Takayuki planned to replace it with a Resident Evil setting instead.
After all, it was just a setting tweak—it wouldn't affect the main storyline.
Takayuki then painted a vision for Tokarev: a future dystopia in full cyberpunk fashion.
A world with high technology and low quality of life. ga-corporations ruled everything. Despite all the advanced tech, regular people struggled to survive, eating trash and living miserable lives.
Takayuki even considered using the movie to tease so of Cyberpunk 2077's lore—perhaps even outright rging Ready Player One into the sa universe.
He'd just explain that Ready Player One took place in another city, while Cyberpunk 2077 happened in Night City.
If the players accepted this shared universe, it could be expanded further, spawning more intriguing narratives down the line.
Tokarev was left a bit stunned by Takayuki's whole pitch.
A dystopia, people addicted to VR... the premise wasn't new. Plenty of sci-fi films already explored it.
But like Takayuki said, the story wasn't the heart of the movie—the Easter eggs were.
That... was sothing genuinely refreshing.
"Takayuki, are you saying you're giving access to all your IPs?"
"Don't get wrong. I'm only authorizing you to use most of them in this one film. And I want a cut of the profits. Seeing as I'm supplying all these IPs, I think a 30% share is fair, don't you?"
Tokarev imdiately got a headache.
Damn.
Previously, Takayuki's licensing cut never exceeded 10% of box office revenue.
Now he was asking for 30%.
Was this really about licensing, or just a clever way to cash in on a pile of IPs?
"This kind of movie... do you really think people will buy into it? Feels like a chaotic mashup. Players might get annoyed if their favorite gas only appear for a few seconds. Wouldn't they find that insulting?"
"You've got a point, but I think players will feel more excited than disappointed."
Takayuki couldn't speak for others, but in his past life, he'd ranked Ready Player One as his favorite film of the year.
He even bought the Blu-ray and rewatched it countless tis.
He was obsessed with spotting Easter eggs he hadn't seen before.
Most dedicated gars don't just like one ga. They love dozens. Few are so narrow-minded as to only appreciate one title.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot. I'm still a little unsure if this kind of film can really succeed..."
Tokarev was still sore about that 30% cut.
A big chunk of the box office, gone—just for IP usage.
Too easy a payday, really.
Still, Takayuki had so many premium IPs it was almost a problem. If Tokarev had that many, he'd never worry about money again.
He felt this project might be a bit wasteful.
But since Takayuki insisted... Fine, he'd give it a go.
"You can develop this alongside the tal Gear adaptation. Don't worry—our Unreal Engine team and VFX crew will fully support you. I'll even lend you the newest version of our AI-enhanced Unreal Engine."
The AI Unreal Engine was Takayuki's latest pride—a tool capable of massively increasing developnt efficiency.
Used right, it could crush the competition.
Tokarev had heard of it and knew it was powerful.So he had no objections.
Alright then—ti to go all in.
After all, he'd always been the kind of man who bet big.
"Oh, by the way," Takayuki added,"Since I'm already letting you adapt my IPs into film, maybe you could return the favor and help out a little."
"What do you need?" Tokarev asked.
"Find a few top-tier actors. I want to use them for ga performances. Also, help find a few top musicians—there's a ga I'm working on that needs a strong soundtrack."
"That's no problem. I can make the calls."
To Tokarev, this was nothing.
Gastar Electronic Entertainnt was famously generous. Everyone in the industry knew they paid well and quickly.
In fact, many celebrities in the film industry were now saying that working in gas often paid more than acting in movies.
Because right now, the video ga business was the most profitable industry on the planet.
And that ant big paydays.
Helping his friends land roles in ga projects? They'd be more than happy to oblige.
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