If you're a fan of lovable goofball Ryan Reynolds — and if you're not,
you're going to want to get your funny bone checked — then you've got to be psyched for
"Free Guy," one of the most ridiculously awesome-looking movies of recent years.
Here's everything we know about the movie so far.
Before we dig into the juicy details, let's get this out of the way:
"Free Guy" was originally meant to open wide in theaters on July 3,
2020. Unless you've been living under a rock or have been isolated for quite some time,
you probably have a pretty strong inkling about why "Free Guy" was delayed.
For a while after being bumped from its original date, it seemed like "Free
Guy" was locked in for a December 11, 2020 release date, but that didn't happen either.
The movie's current release date, assuming nothing happens to bump it again, is August 13, 2021.
"Free Guy" is one of the first major films to be released under the new banner of 20th Century
Studios, the moniker bestowed upon the former 20th Century Fox after its acquisition by Disney.
The House of Mouse varied its approach to its releases that were originally slated for 2020.
While the studio pushed back the premiere dates of tentpole films like the live-action "Mulan"
remake and Marvel's "Black Widow," it didn't do so until it became clear that such a move
was necessary. In the case of "Free Guy," a delay was certainly the best course of action,
and the fact that the studio went so far as to push it into summer 2021
is a strong signal that they believe it will do well in theaters.
"Free Guy" is directed by "Night at the Museum" helmer Shawn Levy,
from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, a veteran scribe who has worked
on everything from "Men in Black" to "The Avengers." Their cast is riddled with ringers,
several of whom were cast largely due to their connections to the video game world.
Popping up in supporting roles or cameos will be YouTuber Tyler "Ninja" Blevins,
Twitch star Imane "Pokimane" Anys, Let's Play favorite Lannan "LazarBeam" Eacott,
and Sean "Jacksepticeye" McLoughlin, who will be voicing the iconic video game character Q*Bert.
Since that character speaks nearly exclusively in bleeped curses, this should be interesting.
"What's he saying, Felix?" "Stand by. My Q-bertese is a little rusty."
The familiar faces don't end there. Appearing in the main cast are "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika
Waititi as video game developer Antoine, "Killing Eve's" Jodie Comer as programmer Milly and her
in-game alter ego Molotov Girl, "Stranger Things' star Joe Keery as programmer Keys,
and "Get Out" actor Lil Rel Howery as Guy's fellow NPC and friend, Buddy.
One thing we're extremely curious about is who or what will serve as the in-game Big Bad.
While Guy will be working against external forces to keep his world from collapsing,
it stands to reason that he'll have some kind of virtual nemesis to contend with,
as well. But as far as who or what that villain could be, we still don't know.
The story of "Free Guy" has had a long road to theaters, even before the pandemic delays.
Deadline reported back in 2016 that the film — back then, described as a Matt Lieberman spec
script "in the vein of 'The Truman Show'" — had acquired the highly sought-after "Deadpool" star
Ryan Reynolds. The overall plot seems to have remained the same since then,
but given Reynolds' star power, and his love of getting creatively involved in his projects,
it's likely that the movie's tone evolved from there to match his personality and talents.
And while Reynolds wasn't one of the initial creators of the project,
it's clear that he fell deeply in love with it: in 2019, he said,
"I haven't been this fully immersed and engaged in something since 'Deadpool' [...] I think we
live in really weird times right now, you're watching the news and the top story today is
'it's the end of the world.' I felt a kinship to the character in that you can sometimes feel
like a background character. The world is on loop and you have no control over what's happening."
That sounds like a fascinating theme to explore through comedy,
and we're intrigued to see how "Free Guy" tackles the idea of an NPC facing an existential crisis.
But beyond the broad themes and premise, we actually don't know much about the movie's plot,
although the trailers give us a good idea of what to expect.
The first trailer is, simply put, gloriously bonkers. Set to the bouncy strains of Mariah
Carey's "Fantasy," it shows a look at a typical day in Guy's life.
That leads to his snap decision to suddenly involve himself in the mayhem that results in
his world turning upside-down, and his reaction to his realization that his world isn't exactly,
you know, real. We also get an idea of the excellent comedic chemistry between
Reynolds and Comer, along with an abundance of explosions, gunfights, and wild stunts.
It's not like Ryan Reynolds has a conflicted history when it comes to those sort of things....
"Answer as quickly as you can now. If you had a gun to your head..."
The second trailer for "Free Guy" is just as jam-packed with awesomeness as its predecessor,
but offers a more concrete sense of the movie's narrative. Guy is a
background character of a video game who learns he isn't real,
then ventures to become the hero of his world and save it from impending doom.
The third trailer places further emphasis on the character of Molotov Girl,
and the role she plays in the plot. It seems she will be instrumental in
Guy's development from clueless NPC to self-aware action hero.
Of course, although there's a lot we can figure out from the trailers,
there's a lot more we don't know. In addition to our questions about the movie's main villain,
we also wonder just how Jodie Comer's dual character will figure in. She's been presented
as an in-game ally to Guy, but she is also one of the game's programmers in the real world.
With this in mind, it sure seems like she could have a key role to play in convincing
Taika Waititi's developer character not to pull the plug on the game.
But beyond Guy's gradual evolution into a hero, the details of the story of "Free Guy" remains a
mystery. That's probably a good thing, as we feel like this is going to be a flick that's full of
hilarious and inspired surprises. Most likely, the less you know, the more enjoyable it will all be.
And based on the trailers so far, we have a solid idea of its overall vibe,
which is every bit as hilarious as you would hope for it to be.
"That's not Huge Jackman though."
"It sure isn't that's like 5'9" Wolvie from the comics."
"Yeah that's like real Wolverine. Hugh Jackman outdid himself."
"Never heard of him." -
Considering the video game-themed plot, including a number of game references,
cameos, and more, it goes without saying that if
there's a prime audience for "Free Guy," it's the gaming community.
"There's so many callbacks to the games we know and love.
You're going to be really excited to see it."
However, Ryan Reynolds has fans all over the place,
some of whom may have never even held a game controller. Will these people get lost?
Not according to Reynolds. During a 2019 press conference, Reynolds drew
a comparison to sports movies, and how even people who might have no interest in, say,
an actual baseball game can still be thrilled by a baseball movie. In his words,
"I always look at it like, sports movies are good metaphors. The greatest sports movies
ever made are not actually about sports. 'Field of Dreams,' I wouldn't characterize
that as a baseball story. They used baseball as a vehicle to tell a really beautiful story
about a son and a father trying to connect. I think that we're doing the same thing."
Director Shawn Levy added that the movie's central conceit about an NPC who is just
finding out that he's in a game means that the ideal audience surrogate is actually a non-gamer.
A non-gaming audience will easily be able to place themselves in Guy's
shoes as he learns all about what video games are, and how they work.
So while gamers will be thrilled with all the inside jokes and fun twists on things they love,
the whole high-concept premise is really just there to tell a more universal story.
And honestly, if audiences could figure out "The Matrix" back in 1999,
they should be more than ready for "Free Guy."
Not that long ago, there wouldn't even be a question about whether a major studio release
would play in theaters or not. Things have changed a lot since 2020, though,
and these days, there's always some question about whether a movie will release in theaters,
or if it'll go right to streaming — or, in some cases, if it'll go up on both
simultaneously. So where does it fall in this new entertainment landscape?
In fact, it looks like "Free Guy" is taking full advantage of the reopening of theaters
nationwide thanks to increasing vaccination rates and lowering COVID restrictions.
In fact, just like in the pre-COVID era "Free Guy"
will release exclusively in theaters for the first 45 days of its run.
This is in contrast to some of Disney's other big releases such as "Cruella" and "Black
Widow," which debuted in theaters and on Disney+ simultaneously. But it looks like Disney's release
strategy is beginning to shift. "Free Guy" comes out in August, just a few weeks ahead
of the studio's next big release, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." Clearly,
Disney is banking on earning big bucks with this movie, and on theaters coming back in a big way.
Given the enthusiasm that "Free Guy" has earned all over the internet so far and public's
excitement to return to movie theaters, this seems like a good bet on their part.
We'll see if their plan pays off when "Free Guy" hits theaters on August 13, 2021.
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