The movie Ryan Reynolds action movie, directed and produced by Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy and written by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, takes place in the open-world video game environment of Free City. Guy, an NPC played by Ryan Reynolds, becomes more self-aware after an encounter with the mysterious Molotov Girl, the avatar of programmer Millie Rusk (Jodie Comer). This setting allows for encounters with many different types of characters, played by various notable actors. Tatum’s Free Guy cameo is one of the most memorable, especially because he appears not once, but twice throughout the movie.
Channing Tatum's guest cameo in Free Guy is as Revenjamin Buttons, the in-game character of nerdy 22-year-old Keith (played by Matt Cardarople). Tatum is first seen in the film's opening scene. The naïve Guy thinks Buttons is a superhero who saves Free City from danger but the character actually causes damage to the city and steals a car. Later on, Guy and his best friend, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), encounter Buttons when they infiltrate the Stash house to find the video clip of a hidden level that contains source code that Millie needs.
Channing Tatum's Free Guy cameo is great because it plays to his strengths. Revenjamin Buttons is a very fun and goofy character, and films like the 21 Jump Street series have proven that Tatum does comedy very well. Buttons also loves showing off moves like the "Thanos glove," a fun video game reference in Free Guy to the dances in the game Fortnite. This is perfect for Tatum due to the dancing he does in the Magic Mike and Step Up movies, but also allows Tatum to shine doing physical comedy. This Free Guy cameo is very fitting for Tatum and he puts in a very memorable performance, despite the limited screen time.
Channing Tatum's cameo in Free Guy is also perfect because it helps make the movie even more enjoyable. Buttons could've easily been portrayed as a typical macho character who is presented as a roadblock in Guy's quest; however, the fact that Channing Tatum's cameo ends up being a dork who is a huge fan of Guy is a great subversion of his earlier portrayal in Free Guy's opening scene. It's fun to see real-life personalities in Free Guy, but Tatum's cameo is perfect for the film because he plays an iconic original character.
In an interview with Dwayne Johnson, who also played a cameo. It's very likely that Tatum was a good friend of Reynolds beforehand and was probably asked if he wanted to take part in the movie. It's a good thing that Channing Tatum was up for a cameo appearance in Free Guy because his character is one of the film's highlights.
