First Look at Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh's MAYDAY, a Twisted Cold War Buddy Movie

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh aren’t exactly the duo you’d expect to be freezing together in the middle of a Cold War spy story, but here we are, and it could be an awesome movie.

This is the first look at Mayday, and it promises a weird, fun, genre-hopping ride from the filmmakers behind Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

The film comes from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who are leaning hard into their knack for mixing sharp comedy with high-stakes chaos. This time they’re taking on Cold War paranoia, buddy comedy energy, and spy thriller tension, then smashing it all together in a way that feels tailor-made for Reynolds and Branagh.

Reynolds plays U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a hotshot sent on a top-secret mission that goes very wrong. Branagh steps in as Nicolai Ustinov, a grizzled ex-KGB agent who probably shouldn’t be Troy’s friend but might end up being exactly that.

The first image shows the two lying side by side in the snow, completely spent, possibly after beating each other senseless or barely surviving something much worse.

Daley and Goldstein are sure to have fun with this film, and pairing Reynolds’ fast-talking charm with Branagh’s gravitas feels like a calculated swing that could pay off in an entertaining.

The supporting cast includes Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, and David Morse. Apple also confirmed that Mayday is set to land on September 4, 2026.