Is Free Guy 2 Still Happening? How Barbie's Success May Mean 'Game Over' For A Sequel

It's been two years since "Free Guy" became a theatrical hit for Disney at a time when the industry was very much struggling to get back on its feet in the aftermath of the pandemic. But director Shawn Levy's take on a fictional video game that becomes too real for the characters within it, with Ryan Reynolds starring as the titular Guy, did well enough for itself that the studio quickly began looking at a sequel.

"Free Guy 2" was first mentioned as a real possibility more than two years ago after the first film grossed $331 million worldwide under less-than-ideal conditions. So, is the sequel still happening? If so, why has it taken so long to get it going? And what does any of this have to do with "Barbie?" We're here to answer all of those questions and get to the bottom of it armed with all of the information we currently have regarding the sequel.

Disney, Shawn Levy, and Ryan Reynolds have not commented directly on the hold-up with "Free Guy 2" up to this point. But Levy and Reynolds are the two most essential pieces of the puzzle, and they've been very busy since the first film hit theaters in 2021. Reynolds, for one, is a ridiculously busy businessman outside of his acting career, with his alcohol company Aviation Gin, his stake in Mint Mobile, and co-owning a soccer team alongside Rob McElhenney, as documented in Hulu's "Welcome to "Wrexham."

Primarily though, Levy and Reynolds have been busy collaborating on another major blockbuster for Disney in the form of "Deadpool 3." After languishing in development Hell for several years, the success of "Free Guy" helped get the ball rolling on the sequel, with Levy taking over as director. It quickly became a priority for Marvel Studios and all involved, especially once Hugh Jackman signed on to reprise his role as Wolverine. That being the case, they simply haven't had a lot of time to actually work on the movie, even if Disney wants it to happen.

Those are very practical reasons that have gotten in the way of the development of "Free Guy 2." However, another unexpected reason emerged recently in the form of "Barbie" and that movie's record-breaking success.

"Barbie" has been the success story of 2023, as director Greta Gerwig's movie about the Mattel doll has made more than $1.4 billion at the box office. That, as it turns out, has possibly impacted the likelihood of "Free Guy 2" actually happening. Levy, speaking with Collider earlier this year, explained that because "Barbie" deals with some similar subject matter, it has complicated plans for the sequel.

"I think it is definitely not assured. We love 'Free Guy' and the love for 'Free Guy' that has kind of resonated in aftershocks, if you will, in the last couple of years. That's been thrilling to Ryan [Reynolds] and I. We are developing a sequel, but the truth is that you now have 'Barbie' that has obviously left a mark about a character in a fictional world who comes to self-awareness. So, we're only gonna make 'Free Guy 2' if it's different than the first movie and if it's different from other movies."

Whatever plans may have existed they have, at the very least, changed. That doesn't rule out a sequel entirely though. In August of 2021, just after "Free Guy" opened atop the charts at the box office, Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter to reveal that Disney was already interested in a follow-up. "Aaaannnnd after 3 years messaging #FreeGuy as an original IP movie, Disney confirmed today they officially want a sequel. Woo hoo!! #irony," Reynolds said at the time.

Disney, for their part, never set an actual release date or anything of that nature for the sequel. There was also never any confirmation that a script was being written, be it by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, who penned the first movie, or a new writer.

Very little has been said about what Levy and/or Reynolds have planned for the sequel. Prior to the release of the first film, Levy said that they "have some really fun ideas for where Guy could go next" and that they have "bandied about and flirted with some ideas." But he never got into specifics. That leaves the door wide open for the sequel. Sort of.

As Levy explained, what "Barbie" managed to accomplish may limit what they can do in "Free Guy 2." The majority of the first movie took place inside of Guy's world in the video game "Free City." One option might have been to somehow transport Guy into the real world alongside Jodie Comer's Mille, sort of like "Jumanji" in a "bringing the game to life" sort of way. The problem now though is that "Barbie" pretty much did exactly that. So something along those lines is probably off the table.

Levy and whatever writers ultimately are tasked with writing the script will have to find a way to make the story feel fresh while not treading on similar turf. In that way, the potential for what "Free Guy 2" could end up being about is so broad that it's difficult to even reasonably speculate.

No cast members have been formally confirmed for the sequel as of this writing, though Ryan Reynolds is very clearly on board and, without him as Guy, there would pretty much be no movie. It seems highly likely that other supporting characters from the first film, such as Jodie Comer's Millie, Lil Rel Howery's Buddy, and Joe Keery's Keys would also return. Taika Waititi's villain also doesn't seem off the table.

Until the sequel actually gets closer to becoming a reality — if it becomes closer to becoming a reality — there is no telling who will actually join Reynolds. Who knows? Maybe he could talk Rob McElhenney into joining the cast since they now co-own a soccer team together, which would add some seriously meta storytelling as he also stars as a video game creator on Apple TV+'s "Mythic Quest."