Ryan Reynolds And Kenneth Branagh To Lead Action Comedy Mayday From Dungeons & Dragons Directors
Ryan Reynolds is one of the biggest stars in the world, and audiences are always paying attention to his latest project, whether it's a holiday musical comedy like "Spirited," a sci-fi adventure like "The Adam Project," a hilarious but action-packed comic book flick like "Deadpool," or just a straight-up action flick like Netflix's "6 Underground." It sounds like fans will have another intriguing project to get excited about as Ryan Reynolds continues his collaborations with Apple Original Films and Skydance.
Deadline has reported Ryan Reynolds will be starring in a new action-adventure tentpole called "Mayday," which will team him up with revered British actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh. But it won't be Branagh who is behind the camera, despite his experience in the director's chair. Instead, we've got a pair of filmmakers who have proven themselves to be rather adept at crafting genre movies with a unique approach that provides big laughs alongside exciting setpieces. If you want to know more about "Mayday," we've got you covered.
Who is in the Mayday cast?
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh are the only names attached to star in "Mayday" at this moment. But honestly, that's all we need to know in order to be interested in this movie. The teaming up of these two actors who couldn't be more different from each other has a lot of potential for a thoroughly entertaining two-hander. The pairing of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in "Men in Black" comes to mind as a comparison, and that resulted in one of the most satisfying blockbuster team-ups ever.
Reynolds has been playing with streamers like Netflix and Apple lately, especially since studios aren't taking a lot of chances on comedies, but he's also been busy with a lot of other business endeavors like Mint Mobile and Aviation Gin, not to mention co-owning a soccer team with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" co-creator and co-star Rob McElhenney, as chronicled in the Hulu documentary series "Welcome to Wrexham." Soon we'll see him in the family comedy "IF," formerly known as "Imaginary Friends."
Meanwhile, Branagh has been busy both in front of the camera and behind it. The classically trained actor has been starring as legendary detective Hercule Poirot in a series of Agatha Christie mystery adaptations for the big screen. In addition to starring in "Murder on the Orient Express," "Death on the Nile" and the upcoming "A Haunting in Venice," Branagh has also directed all three movies. He was also recently seen as the villain in "Tenet," played controversial Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the miniseries "This Is England," and will soon be seen among the star-studded cast of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer."
What is Mayday about?
Right now, the plot of "Mayday" is the biggest mystery. The logline is being kept under wraps, so all we know is that it's intended to be a big-budget action-adventure movie. It's worth noting that "mayday" is a distress signal that is typically used on ships or planes. Perhaps Reynolds and Branagh are on a plane together that crashes on a mysterious island. Maybe the duo is on a cruise and gets attacked by deadly pirates. It's possible that both of them could be really excited about the month of May, but a fierce drug lord appears and wants revenge after the duo accidentally kills his son in a car collision. Anything is possible!
When and where is Mayday getting released?
It's still early days in development for "Mayday." Deadline's recent report indicates that Apple and Skydance are in the process of sorting out details, but there's no production start date just yet. However, Reynolds' interest in the project put it on the fast track, giving it "serious momentum" and it just might end up being the next project that Reynolds gets in front of the camera for after "Deadpool 3," which is currently in production.
Unfortunately, that means there isn't a release date just yet. It's also not clear if this will be one of those movies that ends up getting a limited release in theaters before arriving on Apple TV+. Skydance and Apple previously teamed up on "Ghosted" with Chris Evans and Ana De Armas, and that received a limited theatrical run before landing on the streaming service in April, so it's entirely possible that could happen with "Mayday."
The good news is that the script for "Mayday" has been completed for some time, so the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America wouldn't delay production. However, a strike from the Screen Actors Guild is looming and could happen at the end of June. Again, that's not likely to impact "Mayday" unless it lasts for a long time, because Reynolds will still be busy with "Deadpool 3" for a little while.
Who are the Mayday directors and writers?
All right, who's directing this thing anyway? It's none other than Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, fresh off their satisfying fantasy adventure "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."
Goldstein & Daley have been enjoying a stellar run as directors, writers, and producers. They played with a variety of comedies like "Horrible Bosses," "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" and the "Vacation" reboot starring Ed Helms. But they made the jump to blockbusters by writing "Spider-Man: Homecoming" for Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. The duo followed that up with the fantastically original, hilarious, and generally excellent "Game Night" with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, and now they're enjoying praise for "Dungeons & Dragons."
In addition to writing and directing "Mayday," the two will also be producing alongside Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger, with Carin Sage overseeing for the company. Ryan Reynolds will also be a producer through his Maximum Effort production banner along with the company's Ashley Fox, Johnny Pariseau and Patrick Gooing.
This sounds like quite a stellar combination of talent, and we can't wait to hear more. Stay tuned.