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Where is Free Guy based on? A deep dive into the fictional and real world locations of this wild video game ride

At its core, the zany 2021 action comedy Free Guy is based in two worlds – the real streets of Boston and a fictional video game metropolis called Free City. By blending practical location filming with advanced digital effects, director Shawn Levy brought this unique hybrid setting to life in a way that resonated with both cinema audiences and gamers alike. Let‘s take an in-depth tour of how the real world inspired this virtual playground while also shaping the movie‘s addictive tone and story.

An overview of Free Guy‘s gleefully chaotic premise

For those unfamiliar with the film, here‘s a quick rundown of the premise and characters:

  • Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a cheerful non-player character (NPC) in the open world video game Free City who unexpectedly gains sentience and attempts to save the game from being shut down.

  • Jodie Comer plays the mysterious programmer Molotov Girl, creator of the code that made Guy self-aware. She urges him to help fight the publisher from destroying Free City.

  • Their mission is threatened by Antwan (Taika Waititi), the greedy CEO who wants to turn off Free City despite it having millions of fans.

  • Lil Rel Howery provides comic support as Guy‘s best friend Buddy, another NPC who joins the crusade.

  • Joe Keery portrays Keys, a low-level developer who aids Guy and Molotov Girl behind the scenes.

This wild premise blends emotive real world characters with the unrestrained freedom of gaming in a visually stunning sci-fi template. Next we‘ll break down how some very real locations brought it to life.

Free City takes its personality from the streets of Boston

The central setting of Free Guy is the expansive fictional metropolis of Free City, an open world similar to the chaos of Grand Theft Auto where anything goes. While clearly invented for the movie, Free City takes much of its urban personality and architecture directly from Boston, Massachusetts.

According to location manager Josh McLaglen, the filmmakers chose Boston specifically because its diverse layout provided the perfect blend of modern skyscrapers and classic brick buildings to bring their vision of Free City vibrantly to life. Specific areas used for filming included:

  • Financial District – The glass high rises and narrow old streets here stood in for downtown Free City in key scenes. Storefronts and signs were altered to fictionalize the area.

  • Fan Pier Park – This contemporary green space overlooking Boston Harbor became the idyllic site of Guy‘s charming ice cream date with Molotov Girl.

  • Franklin Street – The busy Downtown Crossing shopping district offered bustling backdrops for major chase and action sequences.

  • Faneuil Hall – This historic marketplace provided stand-ins for a central Free City town square.

In post-production, visual effects were used to add imaginary buildings, billboards and other elements to transform recognizable Boston into the fictional Free City. But the city‘s unique old world charm still shines through in the DNA of the virtual setting according to visual effects supervisor Swen Gillberg:

"We wanted to make sure that Boston, the actual city, was one of the characters in the movie to represent Free City.”

So while not a direct recreation, Boston‘s personality seems embedded in the streets of Free City.

Massachusetts offered diverse filming locations

In addition to Boston, the production shot scenes across Massachusetts to capture the needed urban textures:

  • Worcester – Industrial alleyways here became sites of escape and confrontation.

  • Weymouth – An abandoned portion of a former Naval air base provided the bunker where Molotov Girl hides and programs her revolutionary code.

  • Revere – The gritty commercial beachfront stood in for seafront establishing shots of Free City.

  • Framingham – The historic Framingham Savings Bank now serves as the site of the bank where Guy works before gaining awareness.

So while centered on Boston, surrounding cities across Massachusetts offered diverse settings to flesh out Free City beyond just downtown. According to Reynolds these practical locations added authenticity that virtual stages couldn‘t provide:

“Shooting on location enhances movies on every level. Reality is irreplaceable.”

That reality helped ground the virtual elements.

Pittsburgh‘s aesthetic can be glimpsed in early trailers

While not prominently featured in the finished film, the initial trailers for Free Guy actually show aerial shots of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the camera zooms into the city. This suggests filmmakers may have shot skyline plates there to help envision the scale of Free City in pre-production.

With its mix of old industrial brick structures and modern glass towers, Pittsburgh physically mirrors the mid-size downtown look the creators wanted for Free City before enhancing it digitally. The city ultimately didn‘t provide any primary filming locations, but it seems to have been an early inspiration for visualizing the fictional metropolis.

Video game influences – especially Grand Theft Auto

While filmed across Massachusetts, when imagining the virtual concept of Free City itself the filmmakers took heavy inspiration from open world crime games like Grand Theft Auto. In fact, director Shawn Levy shared that early ideas for Free Guy‘s zany tone were unintentional riffs on the GTA formula.

Similarities between Free City and GTA‘s sandbox play include:

  • An expansive urban playground filled with chaotic traffic and eccentric pedestrians.

  • A melting pot setting blending modern skyscrapers with classic Americana architecture.

  • Satirical in-game brands, billboards and businesses that poke fun at real-world counterparts.

  • Crime-based missions involving activities like bank heists and street races.

  • An irreverent tone that deftly mixes absurd comedy, thrilling action and veiled satire of modern tech culture.

Gameplay ElementFree CityGrand Theft Auto
SettingFictional metropolisFictionalized cities like Los Santos (Los Angeles) and Liberty City (New York City)
MissionsBank robberies, car chasesBank heists, assassinations, street races
WeaponsGuns, grenades, rocket launchersGuns, melee weapons, explosives
VehiclesCars, motorcycles, semi trucksCars, helicopters, jet skis

However, Levy made sure to give Free City its own distinct flair separate from GTA‘s more cynical tone. The city has a brighter, more Pixar-esque cartoon look compared to GTA‘s gritty realism. And Reynolds‘ kindhearted protagonist Guy also subverts the criminal antihero characters common in Grand Theft Auto. But GTA seems to have provided the template to bring the chaotic, crime-ridden Free City to visceral interactive life in a way audiences and gamers alike could grasp quickly.

Seattle provides the real world home of Soonami Studios

While Free City only exists within the playable Free Guy video game universe, the real world hub for the company behind the game, Soonami Studios, is anchored in Seattle, Washington. Though not much actual filming took place there, Seattle was chosen as Soonami‘s home city for specific reasons.

With major game publishers like Microsoft and developers like Bungie based in the area, Seattle has perhaps the strongest association with gaming of any American city. By setting Soonami Studios in Seattle, it connects them to the real world legacy of video game innovation in the Pacific Northwest.

Throughout the film, Soonami‘s offices represent the "real" counterpart to the virtual Free City where Guy achieves sentience. The Seattle connection makes Soonami feel like a tangible emerging gaming giant. It also provides opportunities for scenes set outside the game like the climactic end confrontation at Soonami HQ.

While mostly rendered through digital set extensions without real world shooting, Seattle provides the realism to ground Soonami Studios within gaming‘s contemporary Northwest hub.

Dwayne Johnson‘s bank robber cameo ties Free Guy to a movie universe

Early in Free Guy during a bank robbery mission, Guy has a memorable encounter with the bank-robbing avatar voiced by none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. This brief but impactful cameo accomplishes some key things:

  • It taps into Johnson‘s natural charisma for a funny confrontation with Reynolds as Guy.

  • The cameo tells the audience they‘re in for an entertaining ride with celebrity cameos bridging gaming and film.

  • It grounds Free Guy in a shared fictional universe where Johnson and Reynolds can interact as characters.

So while brief, Dwayne Johnson‘s vocal performance as an arrogant criminal avatar provides an early dose of laughs while cementing Free Guy as a story set in an expansive world full of possibilities. Like the real locations, it adds depth beyond just a one-off comedy.

Blending real locations with virtual game settings

Real Filming LocationMatched Virtual Location in Free City
Boston Financial DistrictDowntown Free City urban core
Framingham BankBank branch Guy works at
Weymouth Naval BaseMolotov Girl‘s secret underground base
Revere BeachFree City beachfront
Worcester alleywaysBack alleys Guy traverses

Aside from the realism lent by filming on location, one of the most compelling aspects of Free Guy is how it fully integrates real physical locations into the fictional video game world. As shown above, key areas in and around Boston were chosen to represent pivotal spots within Free City and beyond.

Actual filming took place on site in Massachusetts, then CG enhancements were applied to turn the real settings into playable spaces inside Free City, as explained by Reynolds:

“The visual effects magic made these places we shot feel transformed into places that don’t exist."

According to Levy, this foundation of practical real-world shooting made the eventual virtual city feel more tangible and authentic. By tapping into the texture of existing architecture and geography, it provided a level of natural detail virtual stages couldn‘t replicate.

Integrating reality with digital animation this way created a hybrid environment that gave filmmakers wide creative freedom while allowing the actors to interact with a heightened version of the real world.

Comparisons to movies like Ready Player One

Free Guy follows in the tradition of movies like Ready Player One that use virtual game settings as immersive plot devices and key environments. On the surface, both films share certain narrative gamic elements:

  • Extensive scenes set inside a digital game universe/world.

  • Freedom for users to inhabit different character avatars.

  • Missions within the game that have serious real world consequences.

  • A race against time to achieve a goal inside the game environment.

However, Ready Player One relied primarily on motion capture stages to produce its OASIS virtual realm with limited real world integration. By extensively filming live action on the streets of Boston and other cities, Free Guy could blend real and virtual in a more organic way.

Another contrast is how the films treat the physical space outside of the game:

Real World DepictionReady Player OneFree Guy
User InteractionConfined to VR rigsBody freedom to move between worlds
Scope of Real SettingsLimited mostly to rooms with VR gearSpans cities like Boston and Seattle

Thanks to on-location filming and seamless effects, Free Guy provides more interplay between the real environment and the game world. It grants users more freedom and mobility. This helps create a more dynamic narrative canvas.

So while inspired by predecessors, Free Guy pushes further in integrating extensive live filming with digital game settings to craft a more versatile storytelling playground.

Potential for an even bigger sequel

Given the originality of its premise and strong critical/commercial reception grossing over $331 million worldwide, hopes are high among fans for a sequel to Free Guy. The creative team and studio have confirmed one is in active development, with Reynolds attached to return as affable hero Guy.

Director Levy has said any follow-up needs to match or top the first film in scope, character and quality. Early plans suggest it could incorporate new real world locations to drive expansion of the Free City game map. New settings beyond Boston could provide inspiration for fresh districts, architecture and gameplay missions within the virtual city.

There is also narrative room to further explore the concept of Free City evolving from just a game into a publicly accessible metaverse platform along the lines of Ready Player One‘s OASIS. This opens possibilities for users worldwide to join in shaping future events in the Free City realm.

While not officially confirmed yet, Reynold‘s noted he‘s ready to reprise his role when the time comes:

“I feel like we‘ve only just scratched the surface with this IP."

A Free Guy sequel could take the unique fusion of interactive real filming and digital creation to even more ambitious places.

Boston‘s DNA is embedded throughout Free Guy

Beyond serving as a prominent filming location, the city of Boston and culture actually factored directly into Free Guy‘s plot and characters. Some key examples:

  • Reynolds‘ character Guy is depicted as a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, with crowd shots at Fenway Park shown briefly during games within Free City.

  • Lil Rel Howery‘s character Buddy uses the nickname "Bean Town" when referring to their virtual city – a nod to Boston‘s famous "Beantown" moniker.

  • The film prominently features a special "Free City Dunkin‘ Donuts" location, playing off the chain‘s Boston-area origins.

These references hint that perhaps Free City exists within the same fictional universe as Boston, even if it wasn‘t directly modelled on the city visually. The ties to Boston went deeper than practical filming convenience.

Director Levy has discussed how Boston‘s enduring blue-collar identity and passion for sports fandom influenced Free Guy‘s upbeat tone and lovable characters. The city‘s scrappy personality shines through in the residents of Free City beyond just architecture.

So the filming provided experiential authenticity while Boston‘s unique local spirit imbues the virtual narrative with extra heart and humor. The city resonates through multiple layers.

Filmmakers aimed to build a city "familiar yet fictional"

In designing the digital metropolis of Free City, director Shawn Levy described the creative goals behind mixing real and simulated elements:

“We wanted a city that felt familiar enough that it feels ‘Oh, I know that city,’ and yet fictional enough that you buy it as a video game environment.”

By filming in Boston, they tapped into the familiarity of real urban character and culture. Digital set extensions then allowed them to shape each location into something fresh and fantastical. Production designer Ethan Tobman explained:

“Altering the real world, instead of trying to fabricate a world from scratch, was the best way to create this relatable, believable city.”

VFX producer Swen Gillberg emphasized that selling Free City as digital required grounding it in organic reality first:

“Having it start from a point of reality was everything because it means you buy the stuff that’s supposed to be virtual as actual reality.”

Shooting on location provided that reality as a launching point. Only then could Free City convincingly straddle the line between real and virtual.

Conclusion – the positive impact of Free Guy‘s blended worlds

By extensively filming key sequences in practical real-world city settings then seamlessly fusing them with digital set extensions and virtual elements, Free Guy accomplished an innovative form of hybrid world-building. The movie successfully turned the chaotic streets of Boston into a fantastical video game battleground that audiences could believe in.

Beyond visual distinction, rooting Free Guy‘s virtual realm in an actual filming location like Boston appears to have impacted the storytelling and characters on a deeper level. The lived-in grit and scrappy attitude of the city translated into the game world, giving it more depth. Reynolds and other cast members responded more authentically by having practical scenery and geography to interact with and move through in character.

Based on Free Guy‘s success, it‘s easy to imagine more blockbusters embracing collaborative production modes that intermingle extensive live action filming with generous digital animation. Along with technical creativity, such hybrid approaches can unlock shared storytelling spirit and spark. When grounded in a real place with distinctive local identity like Boston, virtual settings ring more truthful. Mixing reality with digital gives filmmakers the best of both worlds to delight modern crowds hungry for escapism and verisimilitude.

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Michael

Michael Reddy is a tech enthusiast, entertainment buff, and avid traveler who loves exploring Linux and sharing unique insights with readers.