Despite utilizing various IP and references to established video games, Free Guy is an original narrative focusing on an NPC named Guy, who tries to adjust to his new perspective on his world. It's a notably unique property to be coming to theaters in an age where most projects are tied to preexisting properties. During a press conference for attended by CBR, director Shawn Levy revealed he does have some thoughts on how he would continue the story in a hypothetical followup.
One of the remarkable things about Free Guy, which both Levy and the film's star Ryan Reynolds referenced during the press conference, was making a big-budget film that wasn't specifically tied to an already established entity. But that doesn't mean there isn't the chance for future stories tied to Guy, Millie and the rest of this world. When asked if he'd already considered some potential sequel ideas, Levy said, "I guess the short answer is yes. I've made things that launched franchises. I've made enough things to know that you just don't know the outcome. We have bandied about and flirted with some ideas."
The subject is even referenced in the film, with the villainous Antwan (Taika Watiti) railing against the idea of releasing a new property when the option to just create endless sequels is available to a company. "My favorite thing in Free Guy is that we have Taika's character -- in an original new movie -- literally mock the possibility and value of releasing something new, right? Like, it's so rare that a studio lets you make a big-budget, new movie," Levy noted. "The Antwan character played by Taika literally talks about the value of sequels and have this, like, cynical attitude towards the new."
Making a second sillier reference to the film, Levy also joked, "I will say that, for anyone that's seen the movie... if we make Free Guy 2, it will be titled Albuquerque Boiled Turkey. If you've seen this movie, you'll understand that joke. It is a hundred percent Free Guy 2: Albuquerque Boiled Turkey."
Directed by Shawn Levy from a script by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds as Guy, Jodie Comer as Milly, Joe Keery as Keys, Lil Rel Howery as Buddy, Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser and Taika Waititi as Antoine. The film arrives in theaters Aug. 13.