The much-anticipated sci-fi movie “Free Guy” starring Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer hits theaters this Friday, and there’s plenty of action in it right up until the very end to keep viewers entertained.
Reynolds plays Guy, a timid banker who works in Free City — a city which is actually part of a video game of the same name created by gaming executive Antoine (Taika Waititi) and developers Keys (Joe Keery) and Millie (Comer).
As Guy comes to find out, he’s an NPC (non-player character) in the game “Free City,” knowledge which changes both his world and sense of self completely. Guy meets player Millie, who encourages him to help her break into a secret level of the game that could set him and all the other A.I. characters in the game free and plenty of hijinks ensue.
“Free Guy” is a Disney production, so there’s ample references to other Disney properties and even a few Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins. Guy at one point during a boss fight summons a Hulk fist and a blue Luke Skywalker lightsaber, which prompts at least 30 seconds of the “Star Wars” theme to play just for the heck of it.
Post-credit scenes are usually a staple in many a nerd-flavored flick thanks to Marvel using them constantly over the past decade, and, well, “Free Guy” certainly is going for pretty much the same audience here — a post-credits scene would be a natural fit.
Sadly, though, we don’t get one in “Free Guy.” That said, the end of the movie could be setting up a sequel.
The rest of this post will discuss the ending of “Free Guy.” Meaning: it’s spoiler time.
After Guy helps Millie find the secret level in “Free City,” Millie and Keys use their game design skills to turn that level (which we learn was actually a prototype of a game they were both working on before it got lumped into “Free City”) into its own game. They upload Guy and his pals into the new video game which is a utopia where humans just observe NPCs going about their business without being able to control them.
That’s not the most exciting premise for a video game, but it is a wholesome idea. After landing in this new pixelated paradise, Guy runs back into an old friend who asks him what he’s going to do with his newfound freedom. Guy replies, “whatever I want!”
Disney loves to spin movies into franchises and it’s possible this ending is a sequel setup. That said, Disney hasn’t acknowledged the existence of any plans for a “Free Guy” follow-up — yet.
UPDATE: Well, it turns out our suspicions are confirmed and there likely will be a “Free Guy” sequel. Reynolds confirmed the day after the film released that Disney is already gunning for a part two based on the success of the first movie, which is headed for at least a $26 million opening weekend.
The sequel could follow Guy’s ongoing exploits in the new game, or show how the other NPCs develop with him — after all, Keys at one point is delighted to learn that Guy is just the first of the A.I. he built in the game to start making his own decisions and says Guy’s behavior is inspiring the others to also become autonomous.
A potential sequel could also continue Guy’s bid for freedom. Guy’s whole mission in the movie was getting out of the video game, but “Free Guy” ends by doing the exact opposite by just porting him into another game. It’s not clear if Guy could even exist outside a video game, but maybe there’s a sequel in the works where Guy does break out into the real world.
Or, perhaps something threatens the utopia Keys and Millie created and Guy and his pals have to rise up from the inside to fight for the game world’s survival. This is just speculation, but since “Free Guy” ended with the villain Antoine (Waititi) taking an axe to his server room and being publicly humiliated but not jailed or anything, it’s fair to assume he’s still out there and maybe looking for revenge.
And, of course, since it’s Disney, they could always do a crossover with “Tron.”
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