Free Guy 2 May Be Further Along Than You Think

One of Ryan Reynolds' most recent starring vehicles, "Free Guy," was released to theaters on August 13, 2021. Directed by Shawn Levy — from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn — "Free Guy" follows Guy (Reynolds), a non-player character in a video game who, after discovering the truth about his existence, sets out to save his friends from deletion. The film also features Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Taika Waititi and Lil Rel Howery in supporting roles.

Overall, "Free Guy" was a success, both commercially and critically. The 20th Century Studios film made over $331.5 million worldwide at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo. "Free Guy" was also well received by critics and currently holds an 80% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a high 94% audience score. Further, the audience has only grown since "Free Guy" began streaming on Disney+ and HBO Max last week (via The Hollywood Reporter).

With more people checking out the film, more people are wondering if and when a sequel will be coming out to continue the story of "Free Guy." After recent comments by Levy and Reynolds that implied it may be a while until a sequel comes out because they were waiting for a "worthy" story idea, it seems that "Free Guy 2" may actually be happening sooner than we expected. This latest development, while still early, is a very promising one.

The 20th Century Studios president, Steve Asbell, recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss what's next for the company, and "Free Guy 2" is apparently top-of-mind.

THR interviewer Borys Kit asked Asbell how many theatrical releases they have planned for 2023 and 2024. Asbell responded, "It goes like the other divisions, two or three theatrical movies a year. We're navigating the marketplace like everyone else. There are movies like 'Avatar,' 'Planet of the Apes' and now 'Free Guy' that have well-established theatrical precedence for a wide audience." Aspell then added, "We have more 'Free Guy' movies coming." Finally, later in the interview, Kit asked for a status update on the "Free Guy" sequel, to which Asbell responded, "We're awaiting a script that is days away. It's a fantastic story."

Director Shawn Levy previously told Collider that he had "gotten that phone call" about moving forward with a sequel, but that, because of how tricky sequels can be, they wanted to wait to get started on one until they were sure that they had a "worthy" story. Well, it looks like they found one, as the script is now nearly done.

We can't wait to see the continuing story of "Free Guy 2" eventually play out on screen.