Disney Is Already Planning a ‘Free Guy’ Sequel
Free Guy surprised experts last weekend when it not only exceeded expectations at the box office, it surpassed last weekend’s debut by the anticipated DC Comics sequel The Suicide Squad. The Ryan Reynolds vehicle — an original concept that’s set in the world of video games but not based on any specific title — grossed $28.4 million in U.S. theaters. The film also earned another $22.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of about $51 million in three days.
That’s not a record-breaking number, but it’s still more than most pundits predicted at a time when Covid cases are rising again due to the delta variant. They’re good enough that Disney — the distributors of the movie, thanks to their acquisition of 20th Century Fox — already wants to make a sequel. Reynolds himself tweeted the news over the weekend as Free Guy was connecting with audiences.
“After 3 years messaging Free Guy as an original IP movie,” Reynolds wrote, “Disney confirmed today they officially want a sequel.”
In the film, Reynolds plays Guy, a non-player character in an open world video game who gains sentience and sets out to save his world. Given the subject matter, there’s an endless number of sequels that could be spawned from Guy entering into other video games.
The first Free Guy, directed by Shawn Levy, was developed and produced by Fox before the company’s merger with Disney. By the time Disney and Fox combined forces, they were able to get a little bit of corporate synergy cameos in it. But imagine what a full Disneyfied Free Guy could look like? I mean, it would probably look like Wreck-It Ralph, Disney’s pre-existing video game movie series. But what if Wreck-It Ralph then met Free Guy? The possibilities are truly endless.