Ready Player One: Inside Aech's intergalactic garage

Featuring iconic rides from 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off,' 'Battlestar Galactica,' and more
By Anthony Breznican
March 23, 2018 at 01:37 PM EDT

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Ready Player One

Warner Bros. Pictures

In Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (in theaters March 29), Aech is the fixer. Not only is the character (played by Lena Waithe) a clever pop-culture know-it-all, but he runs a garage where digital vehicles can be rebuilt and customized. Let’s zoom in on the famous rides he has tucked away in his warehouse…

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Spaceballs

Warner Bros. Pictures; Everett Collection

Here’s the Eagle 5, the Winnebago Chieftain 33, augmented by a pair of wings, that Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and Barf (John Candy) piloted through the galaxy in Mel Brooks’ 1987 Star Wars spoof.

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Exosquad

Warner Bros. Pictures; Universal

The yellow object in the background looks a little like the machine Ripley used to battle the Queen in Aliens, but no — it’s actually the PO-024 Field Repair E-Frame from the 1993–94 animated series Exosquad. Good for helping Aech lift and weld heavy objects in this digital realm.

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Battlestar Galactica

Warner Bros. Pictures; Everett Collection

Hanging down from the ceiling is a Colonial Viper starfighter, which took out Cylons on the original ’70s TV series. (The ones from the newer series have differently shaped engines and an exposed strip of machinery on the sides.)

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RoboCop

Warner Bros. Pictures; Orion

“You have 20 seconds to comply.” Programmed for “urban pacification,” this walker is the Enforcement Droid, Series 209 (or ED-209, for short), from the 1987 futuristic cop drama.

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Warner Bros. Pictures; Everett Collection

The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California from 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Fewer than 100 were made. Cameron’s dad had one. So does Aech.

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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Warner Bros. Pictures; Everett Collection

It’s a little tough to see, but these are the twin nose cones of a Thunderfighter from the 1979-81 TV series.

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Cowboy Bebop

Warner Bros. Pictures; Samuel Goldwyn Films

This red ship is the Swordfish II from the 1998–99 TV show Cowboy Bebop. In the OASIS, you can shrink your vehicle to toy size for easy carrying. (No need to find parking.) Note the much smaller version of this ship on the workbench below Aech’s elbow.

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2001: A Space Odyssey

Warner Bros. Pictures; Everett Collection

Aech has a few Kubrick blindspots, but he’s clearly a fan of this groundbreaking 1968 classic. “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” This is an Extravehicular Activity Pod (or EVA Pod) piloted by mission commander Dave Bowman when he vanished into the Monolith.

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The Iron Giant

Warner Bros. Pictures; Everett Collection

Only the legs of the enormous metal man from Brad Bird’s 1999’s animated film are visible. Aech still has to build or attach the rest. Look for the complete thing in Ready Player One’s epic final battle.

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Ready Player One

Courtesy of BLT Communications/Warner Bros. Pictures

To read more about Ready Player One, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands now, or buy it here. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

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