Free Guy release date: latest news on the Ryan Reynolds film
Set inside a chaotic video game, Ryan Reynolds portrays an everyman who must become a hero.
After several delays, Ryan Reynolds' video game movie Free Guy has finally arrived in UK cinemas.
The action-comedy sees the Deadpool star play the titular Guy – a Non-Playable Character in an open-world video game who suddenly becomes self-aware.
The film has received a mostly positive response so far, with our own Free Guy review naming Killing Eve's Jodie Comer as the standout in "a broadly enjoyable and mostly entertaining film, even if it can’t quite live up to some of its clear influences".
With a cast that also includes Stranger Things star Joe Keery and Thor: Ragnarok's Taika Waititi, the film is packed with laughs, some great action and a bucketload of references to both video games and other movies.
And Reynolds is clearly happy with the end result: the star previously said Free Guy was his "all time favorite film I’ve ever done", describing it as "just an absolute fastball of joy" – so we can expect big things.
Read on for everything you need to know about Free Guy.
Free Guy UK release date
Free Guy was pushed back several times due to the pandemic, but was finally released on Friday 13th August 2021, after moving from an earlier date of 21st May 2021.
When that date was announced in March, Ryan Reynolds said in a video, "I know we've had a couple of hiccups, but this time it's 100 per cent locked in."
Making light of the situation, he then muttered, "unless of course..."
Thankfully, he was right the first time.
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Free Guy plot: what is it about?
Free Guy takes place in a fictional video game inspired by the likes of Grand Theft Auto Online and Fortnite, where players run rampant across a large map.
Ryan Reynolds plays Guy, an NPC (non-player character) whose life consists of turning up to his job at the bank and spending the day getting shot at by robbers.
Outside of the game, programmers Milly and Keys insert a new code that allows Guy to gain a deeper awareness of his surroundings.
He becomes involved in a race against time to save the video game in which he lives before it gets shut down forever.
Read more: Free Guy includes a surprise Marvel and Star Wars crossover
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Free Guy cast
Reynolds takes the lead role which consists of his usual brand of quippy high-energy humour, well-trodden ground from the likes of Deadpool, Detective Pikachu and Hobbs & Shaw.
Programmer Milly, also known by her in-game username Molotov Girl, is played by Killing Eve star Jodie Comer.
Stranger Things actor Joe Keery portrays her colleague Keys and Jojo Rabbit's Taika Waititi stars as their zany boss.
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Lil Rey Howery (Get Out), Utkarsh Ambudkar (Brittany Runs a Marathon) and supermodel Camille Kostek fill out the supporting cast.
Popular video game streamers Jacksepticeye, Ninja, Pokimane and LazarBeam will all make cameo appearances, as well as legendary game show host Alex Trebek, who sadly passed away last November.
Free Guy age rating
Ryan Reynolds may be best known for his extremely adult antics as foul-mouthed merc-with-a-mouth Deadpool, but it seems that Free Guy is a more family-friendly affair.
The BBFC has given Free Guy a 12a rating for "moderate violence, sex references, infrequent strong language" so it seems the film will be suitable for almost all the family, whether they are video game characters or not.
The "moderate violence" likely refers to the cartoonish combat of the video game world, much of which is used for comic effect.
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
How long is Free Guy?
The film comes in at just under two hours – with a running time of 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Free Guy trailer
The most recent trailer arrived in June 2021, just two months before the film is scheduled to finally arrive in cinemas. It features Reynolds' character Guy introducing his life as an NPC before he is thrust into a vital mission – and you can see plenty of the star's famous quippy humour.
The first trailer for the film was revealed all the way back in December 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic derailed plans for the 2020 summer movie season.
A second trailer dropped in October 2020 to promote the film's planned release that December, which ultimately did not go ahead due to a second surge in COVID-19 cases.
Ryan Reynolds has always been one for creative marketing – and Free Guy is no exception, with Reynolds wheeling out his ever-popular Deadpool character for some truly genius advertisement.
The fourth wall is so broken it's barely existing in this "reaction" video to Free Guy's trailer featuring Reynolds and Waititi as their Marvel characters – which is technically Deadpool's first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
We've also been told to expect some major Easter eggs throughout Free Guy which will have fans of the original game very excited.
Free Guy was released in cinemas on Friday 13th August 2021. While you're waiting, check out our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
