Free Guy 2 with Ryan Reynolds may not happen because of the success of Barbie according to director Shawn Levy
Free Guy 2 with Ryan Reynolds may not follow the success of Barbie according to director Shawn Levy
The enormous success of Warner Bros. Barbie – which last week became the highest-grossing film of 2023 – has also influenced the state of 20th Century Studios’ sequel Free Guy 2.
Free Guy starred Ryan Reynolds as a mild-mannered bank teller who discovers he is actually a non-player character (NPC) in an open-world online video game.
The film earned $121.6 million at the domestic box office and $331.5 million worldwide on a reported budget of $100 million.
A sequel was confirmed last March, with 20th Century Studios’ Steve Asbell claiming there was a ‘fantastic story’.
However, now that Barbie has broken through at the box office in record-breaking ways, Free Guy director Shawn Levy told Collider that he’s not so sure there will be a sequel now, due to the similarities between Free Guy and Barbie.
Barbie success: the enormous success of Warner Bros. Barbie – which last week became the highest-grossing film of 2023 – has also influenced the state of 20th Century Studios’ sequel Free Guy 2
Box office Barbie: But now that Barbie has broken through at the box office in record-breaking fashion, Free Guy director Shawn Levy told Collider that he’s not so sure there will be a sequel now, due to the similarities between Free Guy and Barbie
“I think it’s definitely not certain. We love Free Guy and the love for Free Guy has kind of resonated in aftershocks, if you will, over the last few years,” Levy began.
“That was exciting for Ryan (Reynolds) and me. We are developing a sequel, but the truth is that now you have Barbie who has clearly left her mark as a character in a fictional world who comes to self-awareness,” he admitted. .
While there are major differences between Barbie and Free Guy, they both revolve around characters, “in a fictional world that comes to self-awareness,” as Levy said.
“So we’re only going to make Free Guy 2 if it’s different from the first movie and if it’s different from other movies,” Levy emphasized.
Barbie also has something in common with Free Guy, in that they were both in development for years before finally getting off the ground.
Mattell first signed a deal to produce a Barbie movie with Universal in 2009, which eventually shifted to Sony and eventually to Warner Bros.
Actresses like Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway were in contention to play the title character before Margot Robbie signed on.
Free Guy was written in 2016, with Levy having previously rejected the script when he first read it that year.
Not sure: ‘I think it’s definitely not certain. We love Free Guy and the love for Free Guy has kind of resonated in aftershocks, if you will, over the last few years,” Levy began.
Self-confident: ‘That was exciting for Ryan (Reynolds) and me. We are developing a sequel, but the truth is that now you have Barbie who has clearly left her mark as a character in a fictional world who comes to self-awareness,” he admitted
Anders: “So we’re only going to make Free Guy 2 if it’s different from the first film and if it’s different from other films,” Levy emphasized
Barbie movie: Mattell first signed a deal to produce a Barbie movie with Universal in 2009, which eventually shifted to Sony and eventually to Warner Bros.
He returned to the project after meeting Ryan Reynolds, reading the script together and deciding they wanted to work on it together.
Free Guy also starred Lil Rel Howrey, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi and Joe Keery, with Levy directing from a script by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn.
Although Warner Bros. hasn’t yet announced an official Barbie sequel, director Greta Gerwig indicated she would be back at the helm.
“There’s a tone, humor and joy, and the world is obviously so beautiful. I want to go back to Barbie Land,” she said.