Ryan Reynolds Plays A Sentient Video Game NPC In 'Free Guy'
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Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
It is a truth universally acknowledged that video game movies tend to be Really Very Not Good At All. More often than not, it's the movies based on a specific franchise that bomb the hardest, but flicks that attempt to poke fun at the medium as a whole don't fare much better. I mean, did you watch Pixels? Yikes, man.
There are, of course, always exceptions to the rule. Wreck It Ralph was a heartfelt love letter to the world of gaming, even if its sequel inadvertently managed to completely poop the bed. This year's Detective Pikachu was also a surprisingly solid attempt to bring the world of Pokémon to the big screen.
Perhaps sensing that the infinitely-likable Ryan Reynolds is a vital ingredient when crafting a video game movie, 20th Century Fox has teamed up with the Deadpool star once again for Free Guy. The upcoming live-action comedy asks a fairly simple question: What happens if a NPC in a GTA-esque open world crime game gains sentience and fights back against the players?
Reynolds is playing the NPC who will be answering that question, and the film looks... well, it looks like a pretty fun time. Check out the first trailer below.
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According to the official synopsis, Reynolds plays a bank teller called Guy who "discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story...one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way...before it is too late."
Free Guy is directed by Shawn Levy, whose previous credits include Night At The Museum. He was also one of the several hundred directors once attached to the long-suffering Uncharted movie over at Sony. Maybe things would have gone differently if they'd cast Reynolds as Nathan Drake?
Reynolds will be joined in Free Guy by the likes of Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi. Debuting the trailer at the Comic Con Experience (CCXP) in Brazil over the weekend, the actor described it as a "modern day Back To The Future." He also claimed that it's his "favourite movie" he's worked on yet. Bold words from the star of Green Lantern, I have to say.
Free Guy comes to the UK on July 3rd next year. Will Reynolds come up 2 for 2 when it comes to video game movies, or will this latest flick be more Pixels than Detective Pikachu? We'll have to wait and see.
