As Free Guy’s premiere edges closer, promotional efforts for the movie are ramping up, so naturally, that means tapping into its video game credentials and there are really few better ways to do it than putting Ryan Reynolds inside some of gaming's most iconic covers.
After Halo crashed the film’s premiere last week, Free Guy has continued gathering more positive reviews to back up the many claims of it being one of the best movies inspired by video games, let alone maybe the only good one ever for some. Of course, having Reynolds’ Deadpool ties to the MCU goes a long way, but no matter the price nothing really ever says gaming like Mario.
Since Free Guy already gives off some pretty big Grand Theft Auto vibes, Rockstar best-selling game had to be one of the chosen franchises, yet the animated version of Reynolds’ Guy flying high as if he were in Super Mario 64 might have someone thinking this could be one of the Nintendo easter eggs spread out across the film. The rest of the classics are rounded off with Street Fighter 2’s SNES cover, Doom’s original 1993 artwork, and Mega Man’s notoriously North American bad box art, all recreated in a masterfully funny way.
However, Free Guy isn’t all about vintage games because a blocky Reynolds also adorns the Minecraft poster, while Among Us and Animal Crossing ensure two of 2020’s hottest games are also included. In that regard, it’s difficult to say if all this fantastic artwork was ready for the Free Guy’s original intended release date during 2020’s summer before the pandemic tossed those plans out the window.
Regardless, the sheer number of video game franchises referenced by the film even before its premiere do back up Free Guy’s reviews complimenting the many nods it gives to gaming as one of its smartest choices. After all, Reynolds himself has clarified that Free Guy may be tied to gaming but that shouldn’t be an obstacle for anyone to enjoy its relatable story something he knows a thing or two about considering his experience playing Detective Pikachu.
Taking these gorgeous posters as any indication of what to come, then all Free Guy is missing are some Sony exclusives for the PS4 and PS5, a battle royale free-to-play game like Fortnite, some good old fashioned RPGs like Final Fantasy, and maybe an MMO like Final Fantasy 14 or Pokemon Unite to have all the bases covered.
Free Guy is scheduled for release in theaters on August 13, 2021.
Source: @FreeGuyMovie|Twitter