Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh Starring in ‘Mayday’

in Movie

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(Left) Ryan Reynolds in ‘The Adam Project.’ (Right) Kenneth Branagh in ‘Death on the Nile.’

Apple is looking to continue its connection with big-name actors, landing a deal that includes Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh to star in ‘Mayday’, a new action-adventure movie being produced by Skydance Media.

According to Deadline, the new movie was born from original pitch by ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, with the advantage that the script from the duo is complete to the point where the ongoing writers’ strike shouldn’t have too much of an impact on when it could shoot.

Reynolds, of course, is currently busy making the ‘Deadpool 3’, but he showed interest in the new movie back in April and if all schedules and other details line up, this could be next on his To Do list, once his latest turn as motormouthed mutant Wade Wilson is complete.

Ryan Reynolds in 20th Century Fox’s ‘Deadpool.’

What do we know about ‘Mayday’?

So far, in keeping with a project like this that is still at an early stage, the actual story of ‘Mayday’ is being kept under wraps for now, beyond the fact that it’s an action-adventure.

We’re hopeful that in Goldstein and Daley’s hands, it’ll prove to be something more than the genre standard, and potentially funny, since the pair has proved they know what they’re doing when it comes to blended movies. ‘Game Night’ drew laughs out of a mix of mystery and comedy, while ‘Honor Among Thieves’ worked as both a faithful fantasy adventure and a knowing wink at its conventions.

The title could well be a nod to a rescue of some kind, though we’re going to have to wait and see on that front.

‘Mayday’ marks the latest collaboration between Apple and Skydance, with the companies engaged in a first-look deal that has so far yielded the likes of ‘Ghosted’, ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ and the animated movie ‘Luck’.

This new project returns Reynolds to the Apple fold, since he previously starred alongside Will Ferrell in festive-themed musical comedy ‘Spirited’, which was a new spin on ‘A Christmas Carol’. Alongside ‘Deadpool 3’, which is due in theaters on November 8th, 2024, he also has John Krasinski’s latest directorial outing, ‘Imaginary Friends’, itself headed to screens on May 24th the same year. And he’ll likely also be seen in the sequel to Netflix hit action comedy ‘Red Notice’.

Branagh, meanwhile, will next show up in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’, in theaters on July 21st this year, followed by his latest directing/starring turn in an Agatha Christie adaptation, ‘A Haunting in Venice’, where he’ll once again play detective Hercule Poirot. That movie will arrive on September 15th and promises to be more of a horror-inflected story for the master detective.

With no start date in place yet we’ll have to wait to learn when ‘Mayday’ might make it to screens.