As we draw closer to the theatrical debut of director Shawn Levy’s Free Guy, the advertising muscle behind the film has been an undeniable factory of laughs. With the Ryan Reynolds film promising easter eggs and cameos galore, some might be inclined to think that another Reynolds character, Marvel’s Deadpool, might pop up somewhere within the film; which doesn’t sound like a bad guess in the long run. However, there’s no sighting of Wade Wilson to be seen, as Reynolds didn’t really want, or need, to sneak him into the action.
That revelation might feel like a bit of a shock, especially with the “Deadpool and Korg React” video that hit the internet recently. But that’s where the trail ends for Deadpool’s connection to Free Guy, and for very good reasons, according to Ryan Reynolds himself. Here’s what he told me when we sat down to speak during the press day for Free Guy:
No, I mean, for me, the thing that I love most about Free Guy is that we’re doing something that I think is very increasingly rare, and very hard to do in this current marketplace. Which is open a big blockbuster movie that’s based on nothing but an original idea. I mean, it really isn’t an IP, it’s not a sequel, it’s not based on a comic book, it’s not based on anything. It’s based on a concept and an idea that people are familiar with, which is the video game world. I love that we had that opportunity, so no, I never really felt like I needed to put Deadpool in. He wouldn’t really fit in there. We do have some massive surprises in the movie that are courtesy of getting to work at Disney. But yeah no, I never thought of putting Deadpool in there.
There are, indeed, absolutely “massive surprises” that are in store for anyone who goes to see Free Guy, and they’re not all Disney-related either. Fans of Fortnite, as well as YouTubers Jacksepticeye and Pokimane, will be delighted to see cameos and references scattered throughout Shawn Levy’s open world gaming action-comedy. Though you won’t have to be a gamer to appreciate Free Guy’s charms, as there are other familiar voices and faces in the entertainment world that are hidden throughout.
Originality was still the main aim for Free Guy’s story of its titular NPC growing beyond his programming, and stepping up to become “the great guy” in the imperiled Free City. And in playing that character, Ryan Reynolds embodies an optimism that’s very lighthearted and diametrically opposed to the nature of the snarky, R-rated Deadpool. So to include the former Fox franchiser into a random movie with an uplifting message would require some very specific circumstances, and that just wasn’t in the cards.
It’s a situation that makes the existence of the Deadpool/Korg video all the more exciting, as Deadpool fans get a nice teaser with their favorite Merc with the Mouth, while also getting a little more information on Free Guy. The response to that video has basically yielded what you’d expect from Marvel fans. If you haven’t seen it yourself, or just want to watch it again, take a moment and get a good laugh below:
In terms of Disney-adjacent properties, Free Guy is literally a whole new world for Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy to play around in. With a tightrope of pop culture references mixed in with a unique story that’s straight from their collective imaginations, the film’s debut on August 13th is going to be interesting to observe, to say the least. Though if it matches up to the film’s critical response, we could see a brand new hit making 2021’s box office that much more exciting.
