Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are four men who are all doing quite well at the moment. Reynolds is one of the biggest stars thanks to hits like Deadpool and Free Guy; Branagh is a few months away from seeing the release of his third Hercule Poirot film; and Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley just wrote and directed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which was hailed by critics and earned over $200 million at the global box office. The four men have heat, as they say, and now they are combining forces for a new action feature for Apple Original Films.
The Hollywood Reporter has gotten word that Apple is teaming with Skydance (producers of the Mission: Impossible franchise) to make Mayday with Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley attached. Goldstein and Daley wrote the script prior to the start of the on-going WGA Writers Strike, and they are going to direct the movie as their follow-up to Game Night and the aforementioned Dungeons & Dragons film.
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh are going to star in Mayday, but the trade report doesn't mention anything about their characters nor what to expect from their dynamic – which makes sense when you also realize that there is no information presently available about the movie's plot.
One might not think that Reynolds could add yet another project to his packed slate of developing projects, but that's evidently what he's doing (perhaps he has access to time travel technology?). The actor is currently working on Deadpool 3 (which is shooting during the aforementioned strike), but he's also still trying to get his new Clue movie going, he's working on the developing comedy Boy Band, Netflix wants him back for Red Notice 2, and he is coming off of working on writer/director John Krasinski's IF. Where Mayday fits into all of the scheduling of those features is unclear.
Kenneth Branagh isn't quite as busy as Ryan Reynolds, but he has some big stuff coming up in what remains in 2023. He is part of the endless and endlessly talented cast of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (a reunion with the director after Dunkirk and Tenet), and his latest directorial effort, A Haunting In Venice, will be out in September. The movie is based on the Agatha Christie mystery of the same name, and it will mark Branagh's third time playing heroic detective Hercule Poirot after Murder On The Orient Express and Death On The Nile.
Exactly how fast Mayday will move through development is unclear due to the Hollywood labor disputes, but we'll continue to provide you with updates on the project as it gets closer to release. In the meantime, you can enjoy Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley's brand of comedy and action by streaming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which is available to watch instantly with a Paramount+ subscription.
