Free Guy, aka, “A day in the life of best NPC Ryan Reynolds,” released a new trailer today, putting Ryan Reynolds in his natural habitat of charming video game NPC who doesn’t realize he’s inside a video game.
The world needed a good guy, they got a great guy. Watch the all-new trailer for #FreeGuy and see it only in theaters August 13. pic.twitter.com/60Lkk7NBNz
— Free Guy (@FreeGuyMovie) June 10, 2021
Set to release on August 13, Free Guy tells the story of, well, Guy. Guy lives a life where he starts his mornings with a box of generically named to avoid copyright cereal and heads to work amidst a sea of open-world chaos. To him, it’s paradise, but to us? It’s basically Grand Theft Auto, particularly the parts where we avoid the story mode in favor of seeing how fast we can hit 5-stars to engage in batshit crazy police chases.
Paradise can only last so long, though.
In a similar fashion as Wreck-It Ralph, Guy starts to wonder if there’s more to life than wandering the streets of “Free City” just to have his commute interrupted by a random person with a flamethrower. This leads to a world-shattering epiphany: he’s inside a video game where Taika Waititi is basically God. He’s the one responsible for creating Guy’s world, you see, but apparently, he has plans of destroying it. Why? There’s no answer to that yet, but I predict it’s something along the lines of “low sales” or, if he’s as trolly as Action Heroine Jodie Comer says he is, because it’s Tuesday and he feels like taking an ax to the game servers.
This revelation of simply being an NPC does a number on Guy, as to be expected. Wreck-It Ralph, at least, had the titular character having an existential crisis about being a “bad” guy. Guy is having one about being an unmemorable, um, guy in the background. He’s neither hero, villain, love interest, best friend, or “character created to be fridged so the protagonist gets motivated,” he’s there to, let’s be honest, get run over by a car while we’re being chased by the cops, or if he’s lucky, he gets to say thank you after we stop yet another robbery at his beloved bank.
So Guy decides to take matters into his own hands and become his own person. Is it a glitch in his programming? Absolutely, but sometimes, you gotta go off-script.
I’m really excited for this movie because I have a major soft spot for the self-aware protagonist, especially in mediums that I love such as video games. I’m excited to see Ryan Reynolds have his mind blown by things like “health packs randomly lying around on the sidewalk” and the inexplicable urge to kiss the girl as he becomes more of a hero. Of course, I’m also expecting a good dose of feels as Guy comes to terms with his world being a game and what that means for his already established relationships.
I feel you, Guy, I wouldn’t wanna jeopardize a friendship with Lil Rel Howery either, but he’s got a stellar friend resume, so I’m sure he’s gonna have your back.
The movie is set to be a comedically fun take on video games today and I look forward to seeing Ryan Reynolds ask questions that simply don’t have answers, because yes, you very much can suddenly drive a car at breakneck speeds, my guy (har har, get it, cuz his name is Guy), and yes, you can’t die.
Unless if Taika Waititi wants you terminated.
Oh dear.
(Image: 20th Century Studios)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
