When it came to excitement, Andrew Garfield was the most thrilled.
During filming, he had sensed that the role of David had enormous potential, and seeing his performance on the big screen gave Andrew Garfield a strange feeling.
He was so cool, so handsome, so cute… uh, so incompetent, so silly.
But overall, the viewing experience was very, very good.
The second episode ended with David and Lucy's first meeting, and to see the third episode, viewers would have to wait until next Friday.
Although the second episode was very oppressive, it seemed to offer a glimmer of hope at the end. David now had the Sandevistan implant and had met Lucy.
After the second episode, Julia Roberts posted a photo of herself with Andrew Garfield on set on social media.
She captioned it: "So happy to guest star in this series. It's an amazing show. The story is heartfelt, the scenes are explosive, and there's so much action.
"Too bad my role is so small. Director Gilbert, can I have more scenes next time?"
Other actresses muttered under their breath, "You shameless old woman, grabbing a spot? We want to act too."
Several of Gilbert's friends also stood up on social media, expressing their support for Edgerunners.
Other stars were not to be outdone, claiming they had become loyal fans of Edgerunners.
Besides giving Gilbert face, the more important point was that the first two episodes were a huge success.
Showing support now might pay off if Gilbert made a movie in the future—these actors wanted to be on his radar.
Some of the celebrity support might have been inflated, but the audience reviews were truly genuine.
Johnny didn't even want to miss the ending credits. After watching, he excitedly posted online: "Fuck, fuck, fuck, this show is so cool. I declare myself a fan of this series."
"Ahhh, Andrew as David is so handsome, I want to marry him."
"Get lost, no male wives."
"Scarlett as Lucy is literally my goddess, so sexy, that tight outfit is killing me."
"Does Gilbert like women in tight outfits? He's used them in several films."
"Oh no, you discovered it. Be careful, Gilbert might silence you. But I like it too."
Not only was word spreading among viewers, but online media were also giving ratings. Twenty-three websites averaged a score of 9.4, showing the series' extremely high quality.
On IMDB, Edgerunners scored 9.5 right from the start, categorizing it as a high-rated series. As long as the following episodes maintained quality, keeping it above 9 wouldn't be a problem.
Traditional print media were working overtime to cover it. Gilbert's first directed series had generated such heat that media had to participate.
More importantly, the numbers rose. The second episode exceeded the first, with HBO and Disney's paid channels together reaching 18.6 million viewers.
Considering coverage, the actual audience might have been 30 to 40 million.
The influence was enormous. First, the Edgerunners IP became well-known, giving Gilbert's cyberpunk project a strong start.
Secondly, the merchandise. From the beginning, Gilbert collaborated with the tabletop game company to develop related products.
Besides theme parks and card game sales, there were various in-show items: gun models, Night City hover cars, luxury car models.
There were life-size Mantis Blades, katanas, various cyberware implants. Also character figurines, keychains, and collaborations with major brands.
In short, anything imaginable could be made, but it depended on the show's success. From the current situation, the series had undeniably succeeded.
This series won countless fans: Zhao Jack and Irene, Rutz and Evans families, Zoe and Doug, Lewis, and Merton.
These loyal Gilbert fans loved the show passionately, with some posting online:
"Only Gilbert could create such an amazing story. Incredible! I can't wait for episode three."
"But episodes three and four won't air until next week, damn it."
"Can they replay it?"
The audience's demand for replays was strong. At this moment, Watermelon Video announced that Edgerunners would be available on their streaming platform on Monday.
It would also include comment sections and bullet screen discussions, letting viewers unlock new ways to enjoy the series together with other netizens.
To attract viewers, Watermelon also launched a lottery for lucky fans, giving away merchandise and autographs from the creators.
Additionally, at midnight, Watermelon Video released Gilbert's first online interview with the media.
In the interview, Gilbert detailed his motivation for creating Edgerunners and how he built the world of Night City.
When talking about the story's future developments, Gilbert said: "The upcoming story can be described as very exciting and intense, but the underlying nature of Night City won't change.
"Perhaps viewers have noticed various aspects of Night City; it's a world controlled by large corporations, and breaking through such constraints is extremely difficult.
"If you have too strong an empathetic capacity, I suggest you stop watching this series, otherwise you will find your tears unstoppable."
The interview quickly drew a large online audience. Even at midnight, over a million people had watched it in a short time.
As for Gilbert's words, much like websites restricted for under eighteen, emotionally charged viewers ignored the warnings.
The next day, discussions about Edgerunners showed no signs of stopping. At this stage, more critics and media outlets joined in.
Everyone began analyzing why the series was such a huge hit and explored the underlying reasons.
Additionally, plot analysts started combining the storyline with the tabletop game's original setting, explaining and predicting future events with impressive detail.
Media coverage, audience enthusiasm, and detailed analysis pushed Edgerunners to an extremely high level of popularity.
At this point, it seemed that everyone had overlooked one thing: the concurrently released Fantastic Four 2 received almost no discussion.
Twentieth Century Fox had high expectations for Fantastic Four 2, but they hadn't anticipated that the release of Edgerunners would impact the film.
Fantastic Four 2 quietly premiered with little attention, earning $13.27 million on its opening day. Even worse than the first-weekend box office was the lack of conversation about the film.
The worst part wasn't criticism—it was the absence of discussion.
Twentieth Century Fox was stunned. How could a series impact Fantastic Four 2?
Another person caught off guard was Chris Evans. He had been negotiating his actor contract with Marvel Studios, but they refused to compromise, while he was seeking a higher salary.
If Fantastic Four 2 flopped, he would have no reason to demand a high fee.
For Chris Evans, this was a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, a major blow.
Compared to Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros had more complicated feelings.
..
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