Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy are two for two. Not only did they make one of my favorite films of 2021, Free Guy, but they’re about to release another fantastic movie on Netflix, The Adam Project, which premieres March 11.
Like Free Guy, The Adam Project is an original story, but that’s about the only way they’re connected. In the new film, Reynolds travels back in time to get help from his younger self (Walker Scobell) and his late father (Mark Ruffalo) to try and save the future. I don’t want to reveal too much about The Adam Project except that you’re going to love it, and after it’s over you’ll want Reynolds and Levy making more movies together.
Thankfully, that’s their plan.
Yesterday I was able to conduct an extended interview with Reynolds and Levy, and we covered a myriad of subjects. One of the things was how they love working together and feel lucky to have found each other at this stage in their careers. In Reynolds' words:
"All we want to do are movies together. We're very lucky that we have some films in development, ones that aren't just that development projects that just vaporize down the road. These are real ones that we cannot wait to make together. We're very lucky that we found each other at this stage in our careers where it's unlike any kind of work relationship I've ever had, and I've had some great ones. But I just adore working with Shawn, and I hope that I get to make you as many movies as humanly possible. As many of I'm allowed to make, I hope they're with Shawn."
They also talked about how they’re currently developing a number of projects and they’ve got studios ready to make them. Reynolds says that even though the studios might be ready, the two of them don’t want to move forward with any new ideas until they have a great script in place:
"The things that we're getting involved with are stories that we really want to tell, stories that the studios that we're talking to are ready to go as soon as we're ready to go. For us, it's mostly just about getting the story is right, the script is right before you go to camera because that's everything. We both know that it’s a slippery slope heading into physical production before something's truly ready."
This brings us to Free Guy 2. While Reynolds and Levy are interested in making a sequel, they aren’t willing to move forward until they have a script and story worth telling. As Levy explains:
“We loved Free Guy. We were thrilled that Free Guy was as successful as it was, and particularly as an original movie at a time where few get made and even fewer are hits. So that was gratifying. And if we can crack that sequel, that's something that might be very fun to make together.”
If you’re not aware, Free Guy was the most successful original movie during the pandemic, making over $331 million around the world. With that kind of success, I asked if Disney has been calling them on a regular basis asking for updates, and if they could start filming it sooner than later. Levy told me:
“I've definitely gotten that phone call. I don't know how to quantify the how much, but that exact phone call that you just basically paraphrased, that's a call. I've gotten a few of those in the past several months. So there is definitely real interest there. But to Ryan's point, we knew. We had such a clear idea of the tone, the story, the details of Free Guy, and we both made a few sequels in our lives, and so we know how hard it is to make a worthy one. And when we feel confident that's the kind we'll make, then we'll make it.”
As a huge fan of Free Guy, I’d love to watch more stories set in that world — but only if the stories are worth telling. I appreciate Reynolds and Levy taking their time to find a story worthy of being told.
Look for more from my conversation with Reynolds and Levy soon.