Ryan Reynolds and the cast of Free Guy prepare for a variety of release dates in a new trailer tease. A wholly original film, Free Guy stars Reynolds as the titular protagonist, a non-playable character in a violent videogame. When Guy realizes what he is, he sets off on a journey of self-empowerment as he fights to keep the game alive. Directed by Shawn Levy, Free Guy also stars Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi.
The coronavirus pandemic has cast a great deal of uncertainty over the state of movie releases, as theaters were closed for a majority of the year and most films have been delayed. Free Guy was one of the many movies initially slated to take part in the lucrative summer period, with its original date being in July of this year. However, the pandemic saw Disney/Fox shift it to December, where it currently stands. Still, despite a few high-profile movies hanging onto 2020 (such as Wonder Woman 1984 and Dune), it remains to be seen whether any of them will be able to stay put.
The latest piece of marketing for Free Guy leans into this uncertainty, with Reynolds' typical meta humor on full display. In a new teaser, Free Guy is still scheduled for December, but as Levy puts it, the studio wants to cover "alternative release date promos." What follows is the entire cast (sans Waititi) listing off the various dates Free Guy could arrive, from Labor Day to "when Mars is in retrograde," per Ambudkar. It concludes with the fun news that a new trailer will arrive tomorrow. Check it out below.
Thanks to Reynolds, Free Guy's marketing has already set a very tongue-in-cheek tone, whether it's through Reynolds and Waititi refusing to admit they met on the set of Green Lantern to poking fun at Disney's lack of originality. When it comes to promoting films in 2020, studios haven't been able to definitively say certain movies can come out when they're scheduled, making this gag the perfect way to address Free Guy's highly probable delay. This way, Free Guy is ready for whatever change might occur.
For now, though, it seems to be holding onto its December slot. While a handful of new releases have arrived in recent weeks, from The New Mutants to Tenet, their performances have been less than stellar. If the ongoing health crisis manages to improve within the next two months, Free Guy and the other end-of-year films could come out on time, but it's very hard to say for sure. Like Reynolds and his co-stars, audiences will just have to brace themselves for some potential changes.
Source: Ryan Reynolds/Twitter
