This weekend, Free Guy finally came out. The high-concept comedy, in which Ryan Reynolds plays a video game extra who becomes aware of his grim lot in life, was one of a number of blockbusters delayed by the pandemic, its release date moved four separate times. And while its box office is understandably modest, it still opened at #1, grossing slightly more dough than last week’s winner The Suicide Squad. It opened well enough that Disney, the company that took it over after they absorbed Fox, has already greenlit a sequel, according to Reynolds himself.
Aaaannnnd after 3 years messaging #FreeGuy as an original IP movie, Disney confirmed today they officially want a sequel. Woo hoo!! #irony pic.twitter.com/85mMxW4owx
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 14, 2021
Reynolds being Reynolds, he broke the news in the most him way possible: with couldn’t-resist sarcasm. “Aaaannnnd after 3 years messaging #FreeGuy as an original IP movie, Disney confirmed today they officially want a sequel,” he wrote, adding, “Woo hoo!! #irony”
Reynolds even had an idea of what to call it, taking a cue from one of supporting player Taika Waititi’s ad-libbed lines.
If it isn’t called, “Albuquerque Boiled Turkey” we’ve failed.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 14, 2021
Free Guy isn’t only the first Disney product they’ve dropped in theaters only, not for PVOD on Disney+. As Reynolds pointed out, it’s also a too rare example of an original IP. Well, not anymore. Now it’s a franchise. So mazel tov! And we’ll see Free Guy 2: Albuquerque Boiled Turkey one of these years.