We all know that Ready Player One is packed full of nostalgic references from some of the most iconic movies and franchises in history.
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But despite affectionate nods to the likes of Back to the Future and The Iron Giant, one glaring omission is the mother of all franchises, Star Wars.
Surely, given director Steven Spielberg's connections to close friend George Lucas, and with fellow Amblin co-founder Kathleen Kennedy being the head of LucasFilm, he could have easily nabbed the rights?
Well, it appears even a man as powerful as Spielberg couldn't twist Disney's arm to get the likes of Darth Vader and Yoda to appear in Ready Player One.
"We couldn't get any Star Wars rights," Spielberg revealed at a press conference (via iO9). "[We tried] very hard. They wouldn't give up the Star Wars rights."
Yep, it seems the House of Mouse is not budging one iota – to be fair, it is one of its most profitable properties, so why would it?
However, Ready Player One star Ben Mendelsohn then joked he could have helped Spielberg to get the rights, given that he starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
"You could've called me on that one, Steve," he said. "I built the Death Star, I'm just saying."
Despite working for years to get the rights to all the properties that appear in Spielberg's new movie, Star Wars wasn't the only one it couldn't get its hands on, with Japanese superhero Ultraman also unobtainable.
While Ready Player One gears up for its release, the movie recently released a series of nostalgia-laden posters to get people excited.
Ready Player One is released in UK and US cinemas on March 29.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
