Ryan Reynolds-led comedy action Free Guy is set to tap into the online gaming world for its co-stars, with confirmation Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, Lannan ‘LazarBeam’ Eacott, and Seán ‘Jacksepticeye’ McLoughlin will be appearing in the upcoming Hollywood film.
Stranger Things director Shawn Levy’s recently announced comedic feature is set around the premise of a bank teller (Reynolds) at a bank that’s always being robbed, before realizing that he’s a nonplayable character in the virtual world of a video game.
Reynolds and Taika Waititi are confirmed to have starring roles in the video game aspects of the story, the flick’s New York Comic Con panel revealed, while Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Jodie Comer will be playing dual roles in the real world and as player characters .
Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi lead a stacked cast for the action comedy Free Guy.
The gaming world also has its own representatives ready to debut on the silver screen — namely Mixer superstar Ninja, and YouTube content creators Jacksepticeye and LazarBeam. IGN has also suggested Twitch star Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys could also be included among the cast.
While Blevins and Eacott are confirmed to appear as fictional versions of themselves in the production, Reynolds took to Twitter to joke that McLoughlin was “convincing” as arcade character Q*Bert, a statement which made its way to the movie’s Wikipedia listing.
“I went full method and sucked on an exhaust pipe for nine weeks to really nail the look,” the popular Irish gaming star replied.
A handful of short clips from Free Guy were shown at New York Comic Con.
The trio of gaming stars took to social media to express their excitement about their involvement after the official announcement, and all thanked the Hollywood producers for the chance to appear on the big screen when the film releases in 2020.
“I can finally say that I will have a cameo in Ryan Reynolds’ new movie. You have no idea how excited I am!!” McLoughlin said, while LazarBeam shared a similar sentiment.
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“I’m appearing in the movie ‘Free Guy’ alongside Ryan Reynolds, Jacksepticeye, and Ninja. I was doing construction five years ago lmao, so f*cking keen,” the Australian star said.
Im appearing in the movie ‘FREE GUY’ alongside Ryan Reynolds,@Jack_Septic_Eye and @Ninja
I was doing construction 5 years ago lmao
so fucking keen pic.twitter.com/LaZPPhkxtK
— Lannan (@LazarBeamYT) October 3, 2019
Fans got a taste of what the comedy in Levy’s next release would be like in a ‘Meet the Cast’ promo with Reynolds, Waititi, Keery, and Comer.
Comer and Keery commented on their excitement to be involved in the movie, before Reynolds and Waititi acted like they were meeting each other for the very first time, despite both starring in the internationally panned box office disaster Green Lantern.
“I’ve been a fan of his for a long time and it’s super cool to finally meet him,” Reynolds said before they were called out by their co-stars, who reminded them they had worked together in 2011 for the DC superhero movie. Both denied the ‘allegations’.
“This is the first time we’ve met,” Waititi said. “That’s the cool thing about the industry, it brings people together. We’ve been mutual admirers of each other, from afar, and now to finally have the chance to work together for the first time, ever, in both of our lives, I’m super stoked.”
Funnily enough, the announcement comes just a week after Ninja took aim at fellow streamer Jack ‘CouRageJD‘ Dunlop for his movie opinions. Now it seems Hollywood has sided with the Mixer star’s views, considering he’s shot a cameo and Dunlop is nowhere to be seen.
Free Guy will be released by Disney and 20th Century Fox on July 3, 2020.
