The last time Total Film caught up with director Shawn Levy and his cast to talk about Ryan Reynolds-starrer Free Guy, we were just entering a near-global lockdown. We discussed how weird the situation was and how the film’s planned July opening would need to be delayed until ‘it was all over’, with the sort of naiveté we all felt when the world thought this might be a couple-of-weeks thing.
Seven long months later, Levy is aware how his tale of an NPC avatar, Guy (Reynolds), trying to bring kindness and order to his chaotic GTA-esque open-world game might now have far more personal resonance with audiences in a world that’s still very much dealing with an ongoing crisis.
“As I was finishing up the sound mix for the movie,” he says. “I was almost freaked out by how increasingly timely it feels. Because it’s not just that our real world feels like some augmented reality; it’s that it feels slightly dystopian. But the theme of the movie – which is a belief in the power of individuals to rally and have an impact on their world – that’s what the impetus for making this film was about: personal agency, personal empowerment. And if ever there was a need for a reclamation of those themes, it’s now more than ever before.”
Above, check out two exclusive new images from Free Guy, which does not currently have a release date. In the meantime, you can read the full interview with Levy in the latest issue of Total Film. Pick up a copy of the new issue when it hits shelves real and digital this Friday, November 13. Check out the new covers of Total Film below: the one on the right is on its way to subscribers right now:
You've read the five-star reviews, now get the inside story on Mank!Our exclusive look at David Fincher's movie headlines the new issue of Total Film. On newsstands this Friday – subscribers, your copy's in the post now! #Mank https://t.co/4SoYHC7erd pic.twitter.com/IqbL5pccwdNovember 9, 2020
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