Ryan Reynolds jokes that Taika Waititi's performance as villain Antoine in Reynolds' latest action-comedy, directed by Shawn Levy, sees him portraying an oblivious NPC in an open-world game called Free City, clearly modeled on the Grand Theft Auto series. Somehow, he manages to break free from his programming after encountering Jodie Comer's Molotov Girl, her character Milly's online alter ego.
What ensues is a race to save the game, with the creator, Waititi's Antoine, determined to shut Free City down to get rid of Reynolds' Free Guy. The movie's second trailer was released yesterday, teasing a chaotic and irreverent take on the world of video games and providing more insight into how the characters fit together. Waititi's Antoine is portrayed as a thoroughly nasty and sarcastic villain, perfectly fitting the movie's self-referential and over-the-top tone. His lines were impressively funny, referencing pop culture, and making it clear that Waititi, who is normally a director and performs in his own movies, didn't take the role too seriously.
Reynolds has hinted at just how funny Waititi was in the movie and teased the improvisational nature of his performance at the same time. Responding to Waititi's tweet promoting the new trailer, in which the director mocks himself for not being an "actual actor," Reynolds says that Waititi's outtakes along could make their own movie, and jokes that it probably will end up getting released. You can see the tweets below:
Reynolds and Waititi both seem to be cut from the same self-deprecating cloth, so it's no surprise that they seemed to get along really well on set. Free Guy wasn't the first time they starred together, though, with Waititi appearing alongside Reynolds in Green Lantern, the much-maligned DC movie, a fact they conveniently ignored while appearing in an early Free Guy promo video. They clearly bonded on that set, so it will be interesting to see how they fare when they inevitably face-off on-screen in Free Guy.
Reynolds' appreciation of Waititi proves that the New Zealand-born director of Thor: Ragnarok and sequel Thor: Love And Thunder has the right sensibility to play the villain opposite the Canadian. Waititi's movies always feature a healthy dose of humor, and his on-screen characters, such as Ragnarok's Korg, are hilarious. Hopefully, Reynolds and Waititi do share a scene in Free Guy, given their respective but very different comedic ability. Fans will have to wait until the movie debuts in December, or perhaps even a later date, to find out, though.
Source: Ryan Reynolds/Twitter
