Free Guy 2 Is Being Altered Because of Barbie’s Success

Free Guy director Shawn Levy says the Ryan Reynolds-led sequel is being altered because of Barbie’s success.

Speaking to Collider about his new Netflix limited series, All the Light We Cannot See, Levy confirmed Free Guy 2 was still in development. Given that Free Guy tackles somewhat similar subject matter as 2023’s Barbie, however, Levy said he’s now making sure the sequel is “different” from other movies.

“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,” Levy said. “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.”

Free Guy and Barbie both follow characters learning to become self-aware

Released theatrically in August 2021, Free Guy portrays Reynolds as Guy, a non-playable character in a Grand Theft Auto-like game. Throughout the course of the movie, Guy comes to learn he’s a video game character but also begins to develop his own self-awareness. Appearing alongside Reynolds in Free Guy are Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, and Taika Waititi.

Barbie, meanwhile, released theatrically in July 2023. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film follows Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she contemplates her own mortality after discovering an entire world exists outside her home in Barbieland. So far, Barbie has grossed $1.403 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the 14th highest-grossing movie of all time.

Free Guy is currently available to stream on Disney+. Barbie just released on Premium Digital Ownership at home for $29.99 and 48-hour rental via PVOD for $24.99 on participating services.