The Outlandish Marketing That Saved 'Free Guy'

This review contains major spoilers for the movie.

20th Century Fox was eventually acquired by Disney. Disney, which coveted the rights to the Marvel characters that Fox possessed, finally achieved its goal. (X-Men and Fantastic Four are important franchises for Marvel.) As a result, the films that 20th Century Fox had produced but couldn't release due to COVID-19 suddenly became Disney films. Ryan Reynolds' film, 'Free Guy', is one such example.

In fact, this film garnered attention through its unique marketing strategy. Ryan Reynolds, during the promotional process, donned the Deadpool costume from his Marvel character and filmed a reaction video to the 'Free Guy' trailer, uploading it to his YouTube channel. Taika Waititi, who also starred in the film, appeared alongside him as the Marvel character Korg. In this video, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) jokingly refers to 'Free Guy' as '20th Century Fox's last fire sale film'.**

The video garnered over 20 million views. Although the trailer for 'Free Guy' was released in 2019, the film was unable to premiere for over two years, necessitating a renewed effort to capture the public's attention. While it may have been relegated to the status of 20th Century Fox's final fire sale film, it ironically proved to be an advantage. This is because it enabled the inclusion of various props from Disney's franchises as cameos.

In truth, 'Free Guy' is quite a predictable film. Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a bank teller who leads a monotonous routine, encounters Millie (Jodie Comer), a bank robber with unconventional behavior. Millie reveals to Guy that the world he lives in is actually a video game and he is an NPC within it. Inspired by this revelation, Guy develops his own sense of self and confronts Antwan (Taika Waititi), the greedy game developer.

Sounds familiar, right? It feels like a story we've already seen in films like 'Ready Player One' (2017) or 'Summer Wars' (2010). Oh, and let's not forget 'Jumanji' (1995). However, Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi's humorous acting, coupled with the lighthearted script and direction, elevate this film to something special. Notably, the climax of the movie features a barrage of IP from Disney, its now parent company, giving it a Disney-flavored 'Ready Player One' vibe.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film managed to rake in $330 million at the box office, which is a decent achievement. The film's director, Shawn Levy, is set to collaborate with Ryan Reynolds on 'Deadpool 3'. It's been hinted that 'Deadpool 3' will feature a scene referencing the downfall of 20th Century Fox.