Few actors have so successfully blended hardcore action with hilarious comedy than Ryan Reynolds.
That was evident in the “Deadpool” franchise, and now the Vancouver-born actor is set to take it up a notch with a new buddy comedy set during the waning days of the Cold War.
He’s joined by Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh in the upcoming Apple TV film, and an action-packed, laugh-out-loud trailer has just dropped.
Turning the Spy Thriller On Its Head
Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh star in what’s described as “a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head.”
Per the synopsis: “When a hot shot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Reynolds) is sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War, the operation implodes, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with a penchant for American culture, Troy thinks he’s toast — but could an unlikely alliance between the two lead to Troy’s rescue, and a bond neither saw coming?”
Judging by the new trailer that just dropped, Reynolds looks to have another hit on his hands with a buddy comedy that hearkens back to such 1980s classics as Eddie Murphy‘s “48 Hours” and “Stir Crazy.”
A Throwback To Buddy Films of the 1980s
According to co-directors John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein, “Mayday” is a throwback to the kind of movies they grew up watching.
“The buddy films of the 1980s were a bizarre and enticing blend of humor, danger and genuine heart,” the two said in a statement.
“‘Mayday’ is our ode to this genre,” they continued, “with the unlikely pairing of Ryan Reynolds and Sir Kenneth Branagh in a Cold War adventure that explores what it means to be patriotic, but ultimately what it means to be human.”
One Of the Film’s Directors Has a Familiar Face
The name John Francis Daley may have caught the attention of readers familiar with a cult-hit TV classic blast from the past.
Daley, in fact, was one of the stars of beloved NBC comedy “Freaks and Geeks,” which aired for just a single season between 1999 and 2000. Despite being cancelled so quickly, the Judd Apatow-created series has gone on to become a cult classic that remains beloved by an ever-growing cadre of fans.
Meanwhile, the show has become legendary for the stunning number of acting careers it launched, providing some of them with their first on-camera roles. In addition to Daley (who played a nerdy teenager), other members of the cast included Busy Phillipps, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini and Martin Starr, Seth Rogen and James Franco.
Daley Has Directed Before
While his co-stars have forged successful careers onscreen, Daley has become equally successful behind the camera.
In addition to the upcoming “Mayday,” other films that he and Goldstein have co-directed include “Vacation” (the 2015 reboot of “National Lampoon’s Vacation”), the 2018 comedy “Game Night” (boasting a cast including Jason Bateman, Jon Hamm and “Mean Girls” alum Rachel McAdams) and 2023’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.”
