Actor Ryan Reynolds chats about his latest film 'Free Guy' in theaters August 13
Reynolds describes it as the 'Truman Show' meets 'Fortnite.'
PHILADELPHIA -- After a pandemic delay, actor Ryan Reynolds' latest film, "Free Guy," hits theaters Friday, August 13.
Reynolds describes it as the 'Truman Show' meets 'Fortnite.'
It's the story of a background player who becomes an unlikely hero in a video game.
WPVI-TV had a chance to chat with the star-studded cast ahead of the much-anticipated release.
Free Guy asks the audience to question whether they are a player in their own game of life or whether they handed over the controller.
"We start off, and he's a bank teller who is robbed every day and suffers all kinds of indignities," Reynolds said. "One day, he realizes he's a background character and a video game. That premise just hooked me right in."
Back in the real world, two video game designers are fighting to take back the controls of their work and their relationship.
"They're all kind of stuck in some sort of machine that they can't shake," said Jodie Comer, who plays both Molotov Girl and Millie. "They have no agency or power, and they go on this journey of self-discovery."
It's a gamer's world, but there is a real-life existential crisis going on. The cast believes everyone can relate.
"It's a pretty heavy theme at the core of this," said Joe Keery, who plays Keys. "I'm living in a world that's not real? What does it matter?"
Keery was here in Philadelphia promoting the film. He even got to throw out the first pitch at Wednesday's Phillies game.
In Free Guy, he once again teams up with "Stranger Things" director Shawn Levy, whose hero, "Blue Shirt Guy," proudly wears khakis.
"Khakis have always been quietly heroic," Levy said. "I just wanted to put them on a movie screen."
Blue Shirt Guy is out for justice and good.
"I love the idea that he sort of hacks the system and figures out how to fight back," Reynolds said. "The fact that he's really just trying to make this world he lives in a better place is kind of noble and amazing. It's a movie that takes you on a ride. It's action, adventure, comedy, romance. But it can also emotionally punch you in the gut as well, which is, for me, the mark of a great film."
