Ryan Reynolds says he regrets not using Thor's hammer, amongst the other pop culture references within Free Guy. Last year saw Reynolds team up with director Shawn Levy to bring the video-game inspired movie, Free Guy to the big screen. The film saw Reynolds star as Guy, who becomes aware of the fact he is a non-playable-character living in Free City, an open-world online game. Killing Eve's Jodie Comer and Stranger Things' Joe Keery star as game developers, fighting to protect the coding of their game from the greedy CEO, Antwan, played by Taika Waititi.
Following a successful theatrical run that saw Free Guy score an impressive $330 million at the worldwide box office, Reynolds announced that himself and Levy would be moving forward with Free Guy 2. The pair shared that they were not planning to rush into things, however, as both Reynolds and Levy shared that they want to make a worthy sequel to their smash-hit release. While details are naturally sparse at this stage, the sequel is likely to follow a similar premise to it's predecessor, which featured a number of fun cameos and pop culture call-backs, including a particular final battle scene which saw Guy wield both Captain America's shield and smash his opponent with Hulk's fist, before brandishing a lightsaber. Now, Reynolds has revealed that he regrets not including one other iconic weapon.
In a recent conversation with Variety, Levy and Reynolds discussed the making of Free Guy and the endless easter-eggs that the film boasts. The pair revealed how they initially approached Disney to ask for permission in order to use some of the various elements within the film, with both of them each recalling a different level of permission granted by the studio. Reynolds joked that this then became "the perfect opportunity to ask for forgiveness," before revealing that he regrets that they didn't "do something" with Thor's hammer. Check out Levy and Reynold's comments below.
Levy: We wrote a letter to Disney: ‘Dear Disney, this is Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds, could we use a lightsaber, or Cap’s shield or Hulk’s fist?’ I recollect that they said yes to all of them. Ryan recollected that maybe they said pick one or two? And we just decided to use all of them.
Reynolds: This is where it did get borderline lawless. I said, ‘I think this is the perfect opportunity to ask for forgiveness.’ I interpreted this as using all of them. I do regret that we didn’t do something with Thor’s hammer.
Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, has become an instantly recognizable pop culture staple over the year, with the comic-book lore stating that in order to wield it, one must first be deemed worthy. This would have ultimately created a certain fun implication, had Reynold's character used the hammer at some point within Free Guy. Following the success of the pair's most recent joint endeavor, The Adam Project, Levy and Reynolds are set to continue their partnership with Deadpool 3, which will see Reynolds return as the Merc with a Mouth, which looks set to coincide with his reported integration into the MCU.
It's interesting to hear that Reynolds wishes that he had included another Avengers reference within Free Guy. One could argue that it was ultimately for the best since the elements that were included certainly received a positive reaction from audiences. With news that the duo are looking to continue working together on a number of upcoming projects, it will certainly be exciting to see what sort of references the pair will be looking to include next, and whether Reynold's will wield Mjölnir in the future.
Source: Variety