Free Guy hit theaters in early August to positive reviews and exceeded gloomy COVID predictions by scoring a healthy box office haul. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds as a regular Joe bank teller who realizes he’s an NPC in a Grand Theft Auto-like video game. Once he understands the true nature of his world, he sets out to become the hero and battles against the game’s creator.
Now, to the surprise of many, Free Guy has appeared in the Disney Plus streaming library for no extra cost. It’s promptly rocketed up the charts and is now one of the most popular films on the service. I’ll confess that I was surprised to see it advertised on the main page when I tuned in for What If…?, as I’d assumed it’d only be up for digital rental rather than streaming.
But in retrospect, Free Guy appearing on Disney Plus now makes sense. This was one of the final projects that began development at 20th Century Fox prior to their acquisition by Disney (something referenced by Reynolds as Deadpool in that awesome promo vid). It continued production throughout the acquisition, eventually being released under the rebranded 20th Century Studios.
Reynolds has also confirmed that Disney is planning Free Guy 2, indicating that they see a lot of potential in this new franchise. But that’s not likely to come for a while yet, as Reynolds’ dance card is full for the next few years. Among many other projects, fans are itching to see him get started on Deadpool 3, which is penciled in for 2023 and will see the Merc with the Mouth make the leap to the MCU.
In the meantime, if you’ve got a Disney Plus subscription you can watch Free Guy at your leisure.
