On Tuesday night, Ryan Reynolds and the cast of Free Guy made an appearance at AMC Lincoln Center theater in New York City for the world premiere of their film. They greeted fans, took pictures, and unveiled a few surprise gifts from the video game industry.

Free Guy follows Guy, a non-player character (NPC) in a video game who works as a humble bank teller amidst the chaos and violence caused by real players. Upon gaining self-awareness, he begins a zestful crusade to save his fellow NPCs and become the hero of the game. In the process of doing so, he runs into real-life streamers like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, Pokimane, Jacksepticeye, DanTDM, and LazarBeam.

At last night's premiere, Blevin and Reynolds were joined by co-stars Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, and Camille Kostek. Taika Waititi, Hugh Jackman, Tina Fey, John Krasinski, and Fast & Furious actor Dwayne Johnson, who all make appearances in the film, did not attend. Instead, Xbox made a series of reveals, such as the winner of the first-ever Xbox Game Pass Non-Player Character Awards (an NPC from the Doom series won). They also debuted a real-life Warthog jeep from the Halo franchise, constructed with help from Hoonigan Industries, a lifestyle motorsport brand.

Free Guy is one of the first Fox films to be produced now that the studio is under Disney ownership. Originally scheduled for a July 2020 release, the film is finally being theatrically released on August 13th, 2021, after being pushed back three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reynolds, who co-produced the film with its director, Shawn Levy, said "I haven't been this fully immersed and engaged in something since Deadpool."

Reynolds is set to star in Red Notice later this year alongside Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot.