Disney is certainly no stranger to producing a box office success. The media giant produces hit after hit under its own name as well as the many companies it owns, cementing the Mouse House as a powerful force in the industry. Of course, they're also not afraid to make a sequel and Ryan Reynolds' Free Guy could get one.
In what may look like a surprise to many, Free Guy has been one of the hits of summer 2021. It's getting great praise from audiences and critics alike, and of course, has been topping the box office. Originally projected to gross $15-18 million in the United States and Canada during its opening weekend, it's gone on to nearly double that in the aforementioned countries and make close to $51 million worldwide.
After the somewhat surprising success, Reynolds, who is both the star of the film as well as a producer, made some waves by posting to his Twitter that Disney is confirming a Free Guy sequel. The same day, the film's director Shawn Levy retweeted his statement, not adding much aside from some extra confirmation.
While Free Guy wasn't always a Disney production, it was one they gained and continued production on after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now named 20th Century Studios. The script had been floating around long before that, with director Levy first reading it in 2016. It wasn't until years later after Levy met Reynolds and they read the script together that they decided to go ahead with making the movie.
The actual film tells the story of a bank teller (Reynolds) who realizes he's actually an NPC in an open-world video game. With this information, he decides to save his friends from deletion by the creator of the game, thus becoming the true hero of the story. People have really been loving it and it's been getting comparisons to other highly acclaimed, somewhat meta, films like The Truman Show and The Lego Movie. Alongside Reynolds, Free Guy stars some other big names like Taika Waititi, Jodie Comer, and Stranger Things star Joe Keery.
Reynolds' original tweet is a somewhat cheeky statement, as much of the marketing for Free Guy over the years has been very focused on emphasizing that the project is a completely standalone and separate IP. If they go forward with making a sequel, they're essentially making a franchise of said standalone and separate IP. Disney has not released any official statement regarding a second Free Guy, but Levy's tweet gives somewhat of an extra confirmation.
Free Guy is currently available in theatres worldwide.
Source: Shawn Levy