Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh's Mayday Unveils New Trailer

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh form a hilarious alliance in Apple TV’s upcoming film, Mayday.

Apple TV+ has officially unveiled a brand-new trailer and a poster for Mayday, an action-comedy. Directed, written, and produced by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the duo behind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Game Night, the new preview effortlessly blends explosive action and incredibly funny moments.

Set during the middle of a war, Mayday follows Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Reynolds), a U.S. Navy pilot who is assigned to a dangerous mission in Russian territory. What begins as a carefully planned military operation quickly spirals out of control, leaving Troy stranded in the country with minimal resources as he tries to stay alive.

His crisis takes an unexpected turn when he crosses paths with Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a former KGB operative who has a strange obsession with America and its citizens. Although Troy initially believes that Nikolai will kill him, the trailer reveals that the two men will be forced to rely on one another as they face threats that neither of them was prepared for. The preview also implies that their partnership gradually evolves into more of a friendship after Branagh’s character seemingly saves Troy several times.

Daley and Goldstein explained in a statement that Mayday was inspired by all the buddy-action films from the 1980s. They said that they wanted to pay homage to the genre while also putting their own spin on it. They also state that they wanted to keep the themes that made these types of movies successful, such as “humor, danger, and genuine heart.”

Alongside Reynolds and Branagh, the Apple TV movie also stars Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, David Morse, Alex Ozerov-Meyer, Donald Sales, Patrick Kerton, and Wendy Crewson. The project is produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger under Skydance Media, with Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau producing through Maximum Effort. Reynolds, John G. Scott, and George Dewey serve as executive producers.

Mayday will be released on Apple TV on September 4, 2026.