Gamers know it well: sometimes you just need a Free Guy. And so that's the lesson that Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds) will likely learn in this late-summer blockbuster. In it, Reynolds plays a bank teller who slowly realizes that he's living in the background of a chaotic video game.
Buddy's what you'd call a nice guy. Not the kind of protagonist you find in a Grand Theft Auto game, which is why it seems like he's the perfect unlikely action hero. In gamer-speak, he's an non-playable character (NPC), which means he never really sees any action. He just observes tons of vehicular homicide, explosions and gunfire. That is until he gets a magical pair of glasses that unlock all the gameplay elements that he couldn't see before.
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Free Guy release date
Free Guy drops into theaters (and only theaters) on August 13, 2021. Previously, it was set to arrive in July 2020, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. December 2020 and May 2021 release dates also failed to stick.
Trying to figure out where you'll be able to watch it online? We've got speculation below as to where it will come out, and when.
Free Guy rating
Somehow, this movie that's all about video games filled with gunfire and chaos and violence ... has a PG-13 rating. We're as shocked as you are, but I guess this means we should lower our expectations of how much risque the film will get.
Free Guy trailers
The latest Free Guy trailer shows is that Milly aka Molotov Girl is the one who actually gives guy the powers of being a gamer. The brains behind the game are furious for Guy's good-natured way of living, and want to take him out for it. There's also a bit of platform-jumping elements, that will make you happy that you're not the one who has to leap from tall buildings in a single bound.
The main Free Guy trailer starts with mockery of Disney's habit of re-releasing animated movies as live-action films, and then Fortnite-style drops us into Guy's world of organized chaos.
Free Guy streaming possibilities
This isn't a clear-cut situation, but we'd bet that Free Guy will wind up on Hulu or maybe Disney Plus at some point down the line. First, it will have a 45-day theatrical exclusivity before it can go to premium on demand or any other streaming option.
But since the film is from 20th Century Studios, and has a PG-13 rating, it's most likely to go to Hulu, the streaming arm of Disney that has the more mature content. Sure, that PG-13 rating is the same rating as Avengers: Endgame (which is on Disney Plus), but something about this movie says Hulu.
As for when? That's unclear. It's certainly not happening before Monday Sept. 27, 2021, though. That's when the theatrical exclusivity mentioned above will end.
Free Guy poster
To paraphrase Stefon from SNL, the Free Guy poster has it all. Fireworks (or missiles) shot at a helicopter from a fighter jet? Check. Taika Waititi in a very sassy pose? Check. A cop in a bunny suit? Check. A hero in a jetpack casually flying above someone who's activated their parachute while holding a gun in each hand? Check.
Plus, not only do we see Reynolds and Comer, but there's a tiny version of both stars on a motorbike, while she's shooting both guns so close to his ears we're worried for his hearing.
Free Guy cast
Free Guy has the wildest and longest cast this side of Avengers: Endgame. Even with just its main cast, this is a movie we're totally excited to see. Ryan Reynolds leads the cast as the titular Guy, while the excellent Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) co-stars as Milly aka Molotov Girl, who has all the badass tendencies that Guy does not contain. Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Bird Box) plays Guy's best friend, Buddy the cop.
The movie's main antagonist appears to be the immature Antoine, played by Taika Waititi. Yes, the mad genius who starred and directed What We Do In The Shadows and and directed and did voice work for Thor: Ragnarok is content to just dazzle us on screen. Alongside Waititi is Joe Keery (Stranger Things), playing Keys, who looks like he works for Antoine.
Free Guy's celebrity cameo stack looks intense, as 20th Century Studios' own site lists Hugh Jackman, Dwayne Johnson, Tina Fey and John Krasinski (seen in the latest trailer) at the very end of the pack. The late Alex Trebek will also appear as himself, as will game streamer Ninja.
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