Director Confirms $323M Action Movie Sequel Isn’t Going to Happen (And You Can Blame Barbie)

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For decades, Hollywood has relied heavily on sequels, reboots, and established franchises. Before the pandemic, Disney was particularly successful at capitalizing on its popular brands. In 2019, they released blockbuster hits from Marvel (including Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel), Lucasfilm (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Pixar (Toy Story 4), Walt Disney Animation (Frozen II), and even live-action remakes like The Lion King and Aladdin. While this success proved to be temporary and hasn’t been repeated, it demonstrated that Disney’s biggest successes weren’t necessarily original films.

Even with the huge popularity of its franchises, Disney still occasionally releases original movies. One example is the 2021 action-comedy Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Shawn Levy. It became the highest-grossing original film of that year, performing better in theaters than established franchises like A Quiet Place Part II and Cruella. While franchises usually dominate, a surprising reason might prevent us from seeing a sequel to Free Guy.

Free Guy 2 Got Killed By Barbie’s Success

During an interview on the podcast The Business with Kim Masters, director Shawn Levy was directly asked if the massive success of the 2023 Barbie movie had stopped the development of a Free Guy sequel. Levy admitted it certainly didn’t make things easier. While a Free Guy 2 was initially planned after the first film’s success, Greta Gerwig’s hit movie Barbie, which also featured a character crossing into the real world for self-discovery, complicated those plans. Barbie’s huge box office numbers—over $1 billion—and its Best Picture nomination likely didn’t help either.

Levy shared that they had several ideas for a Free Guy sequel. The most promising one, which ultimately ended up being explored in Barbie, involved a naive, imaginative character having to adjust to the complexities and challenges of the real world.

He admitted he doesn’t think a sequel to Free Guy will happen, and he’s actually become comfortable with that. He finds it really satisfying to create a film exactly as he envisioned and have people love it – something that happened with Free Guy and another film he often gets asked about, Real Steel. He believes it’s perfectly fine to make a single, well-made movie without needing to build a larger franchise.

It’s notable that Shawn Levy acknowledges the success of Free Guy and openly discusses it, which is a departure from how many in Hollywood typically talk about big-budget films. He seems genuinely happy that the movie exists and has found an audience, without feeling pressured to immediately plan a sequel or expand it into a franchise. This is a refreshing change of pace. However, Levy has faced this situation before with Real Steel, a film that, while not as successful as Free Guy initially, still sparked franchise discussions. While not every movie needs a franchise, Levy remains open to exploring those possibilities with other projects.

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2025-11-25 00:10