In the world of Free Guy, the action is set not only in the digital playground known as Free City, but also in the very world that we inhabit ourselves. With Ryan Reynolds’ eponymous bank teller captivating both sides of the screen with his great guy antics, he also draws the attention of one of his programmers, Jodie Comer’s Millie. Playing basically the bridge between worlds, Comer’s digital alter ego Molotov Girl, the Killing Eve star had to flip personas during her time on Free Guy, but thankfully never on the same day of shooting.
As we spoke during the press day for the film, our conversation included a moment where I asked whether Millie and Molotov ever caused Jodie Comer to have to swap characters at the drop of a hat. Her answer was no, and it’s actually for a reason that’s adjacent to said dropping of a hat. Here’s what Ms. Comer mentioned as the big reason for Free Guy’s compartmentalized strategy:
I am gonna say no. I don’t remember having to do that. I think they were pretty strategic in how they planned that, purely for a time sense of having to put the wig on, having to take the wig off. So I think they were kind enough to give me a night’s sleep in-between changing.
The difference between Millie and Molotov Girl is almost night and day, especially when it comes to the hair. While Jodie Comer got to use her natural look for Free Guy’s programmer on a mission, her Free City avatar has a shorter and darker haircut than her creator. So naturally, wigs were in order, and as anyone will tell you, those are not a lot of fun to put on and take off in a professional context.
A digital wonderland like Free Guy’s Free Cityhas as much of the potential for people to customize their appearance as any of the games that director Shawn Levy’s film is inspired by. Wild outfits, crazy hairstyles and even a full-sizes pink bunny avatar played by Utkarsh Ambudkar are only a sampling of the visuals that Ryan Reynolds’ character gets to contrast. But for most of the film, Guy is accompanied by Jodie Comer in her Molotov Girl get up, which includes a costume that’s ready for pretty much anything the open world can throw at her.
With a shooting schedule that sounds like it kept Millie and Molotov Girl in their own bubbles, Free Guy’s story about the fate of one world lying in the actions of another is only all the more enhanced. And you can catch the hilarity, and the warmth, of that journey as the film opens in early showings this evening. Also, if you’re a huge Jodie Comer fan, you can see her next in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, which hits theaters on October 15.
