If the Free Guy trailer and promotional materials have gotten Mariah Carey's hit song Fantasy stuck in your head, you have Ryan Reynolds to thank for that.

The Canadian star of the upcoming action-comedy film, who also serves as producer, was the one who decided on that earworm-worthy tune.

During the global press conference on Tuesday (Aug 3), director Shawn Levy revealed that Ryan was the genius behind that decision.

The 53-year-old said: "Ryan is kind of a maestro of the odd, random but inspired song idea.  He is obsessive about it, and early on when we were working on the script, Ryan's like, 'You know what I think should be the anthem of this entire movie and marketing campaign?' And he suggested this song by Mariah."

Ryan, 44, added: "In the earliest draft, we'd written in The Outfield's Your Love. And it ended up just not fitting right. It's a great song, but not fitting right. But then Mariah Carey's Fantasy just came like a lightning bolt and it was like an engine for so much of the movie."

In Free Guy, Ryan Reynolds plays Guy, a carefree bank teller in the video game world of Free City. Like his best friend, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), he has a zest for life but all that changes when Guy discovers he is actually a background player in a video game.

Guy also meets and is immediately smitten with the uber-sexy Molotovgirl (Jodie Comer), who helps him navigate the game and come to terms with the fact that the only life he has known is not real. Molotovgirl, whose name in the real world is Millie, has a bone to pick with Soonami, the company that distributes Free City and is run by the greedy mogul Antwan (Taika Waititi).

Joe Keery and Utkarsh Ambudkar also star in the film and play characters who work under Antwan.

Free Guy is a wholly original story and in a landscape littered with massive franchises and sequels, it is a refreshing creation.

When asked about the genesis of this film, Ryan said: "I read the script and then I sent it to Shawn, and the next thing I know, Shawn was in my living room in New York.

"And we were talking about this world and how we could build it, and how we can make changes that would make it kind of relevant and speak to the world that we're living in now.  And it just sort of went from there."

Playing dual roles

For British actress Jodie Comer, she was required to (kind of) play dual roles. She plays Millie in the real world while also portraying her video game avatar Molotovgirl.

The 28-year-old said the experience of exploring the multiple elements of the character as "incredible".

"I mean, it was a huge part of what attracted me to the piece, especially having this girl Millie and Molotov being a creation of her. It was so important that it was always an essence of Millie," she said.

"But Molotov was also very, very different. And I think a way in which we did that, which I really tried to focus on, was the physicality. But, you're right, there is a lot of nuances there, especially within her world.  

"And even looking into how male-dominated that industry is — which is kind of similar to my own — and those kind of fights that she probably would have... and the kind of resilience in which that created in her. There was so much for me to play with."

Ryan has lots of famous friends

The film is also chock full of Easter Eggs and surprising celebrity cameos — none of which we can really say.

As for how the cameos came about, you also have Ryan to thank.

Utkarsh, 37, shared: "Well, it turns out Ryan Reynolds has a lot of really famous friends.  And he got a lot of them to be in this movie. The whole third act, for somebody who grew up with Star Wars, Marvel, and video games, is, oh my god, [you'll] jump out of your seat and scream with joy.

"It's so much fun. There's so much cool stuff. And then it's just, I mean, I can't give any of it away except that if I wasn't in the movie, I would be so stoked."

Joe, 29, who is best known for playing Steve Harrington on Stranger Things, also praised the authenticity in how video games are brought to life in the film.

He said: "I actually think that you guys have done such a great job at giving a really great nod to, like, video game culture. There are so many funny, little things. I mean, I'm not a huge gamer myself.  But, there's this great shot — and it doesn't give anything away in the movie — and it's during this montage sequence.

"But, you see this character in the background, and it's played by a real-life person. And, you know, in those first-person shooter games where people crouch, there's this very specific funny motion, and it means something."

Creating a film for gamers and non-gamers

And in order to create that level of authenticity, Shawn did his due diligence.

He shared: "This movie was about threading the needle between wanting to represent the gaming world correctly and accurately.  And for that, I spoke with a lot of game publishers, coders, game designers, and played and watched a lot of games, in pre-production. So getting that right was really important.

"But it was also important to make a movie that required no gaming fluency from a viewer who wasn't a gamer.  And just wanting to make a movie that was warm, funny, romantic, and enjoyable as both."

Based on early reviews, the film seems poised to be a big hit and has been a critical darling thus far.

When asked about the possibility of a sequel, Shawn said he has thought about it but it's still an unknown at this point.

He said: "I guess the short answer is yes. But you know, I've made things that launched franchises and I've made things, I've made enough things to know that you just don't know the outcome.

"But my favourite thing in Free Guy is that we have Taika's character in an original new movie literally mock the possibility and value of releasing something new."

Free Guy is only showing in cinemas and opens on Aug 12, with sneaks on Aug 11.

bryanlim@asiaone.com

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