‘Mayday’ Release Date, Cast, Trailer and Plot Details for Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh’s Cold War Comedy

Apple TV+ has a new Ryan Reynolds vehicle arriving soon, and this one trades his usual quips for a Cold War setting shared with Kenneth Branagh. ‘Mayday’ pairs the two actors as a stranded American pilot and a former Soviet agent who end up depending on each other to survive, and the project has been generating steady attention as its release window approaches.

The film comes from directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who also wrote the screenplay together, and it carries production backing from Apple Studios, Skydance Media, and Reynolds’s own Maximum Effort banner. Apple TV is set to distribute the film, which is scheduled for release on September 4, 2026.

‘Mayday’ Release Date and Time

‘Mayday’ is scheduled for release on September 4, 2026, with a runtime of one hour and fifty minutes. The film shares its opening weekend with fifteen other titles, including ‘Onslaught,’ ‘By Any Means,’ and ‘Cars: 20th Anniversary.’ Some listings have pointed to a slightly earlier date, with one streaming tracker noting a digital release date of September 3, 2026.

A separate countdown page also lists September 3, 2026 as the target release date for the film. The one day gap between trackers likely reflects the difference between an evening premiere and the official wide release, which is common for Apple’s day and date streaming rollouts. Either way, audiences should expect the film in early September.

‘Mayday’ will stream exclusively on Apple TV Plus beginning September 4, 2026. As of mid summer, the film’s status was listed as post production, meaning final touches were still being applied ahead of its debut.

The Cast Behind ‘Mayday’

The cast is led by Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, with Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński, and David Morse rounding out the principal ensemble. Reynolds plays Lieutenant Troy Kelly, nicknamed Assassin, a Navy pilot whose mission behind enemy lines sets the story in motion.

Branagh takes on the role of Nikolai Ustinov, a gruff former KGB agent with an unexpected fondness for American culture. Bakalova plays Anna Ustinov, while the wider cast includes Marcin Dorociński as Alexander Volkov and David Morse as Harold Kelly.

Additional cast members include Lovell Adams-Gray, Clark Johnson, and Wendy Crewson. The pairing of Reynolds and Branagh gives the film two very different comedic and dramatic registers to work with, which appears central to how the buddy dynamic is being marketed.

According to trivia noted on the film’s page, this marks Ryan Reynolds and John Francis Daley’s first collaboration since they starred together in ‘Waiting…’ back in 2005. That earlier connection gives this reunion, now on opposite sides of the camera, an extra layer of interest for longtime fans of Reynolds’s career.

What the Plot of ‘Mayday’ Follows

The official synopsis describes Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh teaming up in a genre bending, action packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller formula on its head. When Lieutenant Troy Kelly is sent on a top secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War, the operation falls apart, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines.

He is then discovered by Nikolai Ustinov, and the film follows whether their unlikely alliance can lead to Troy’s rescue and a bond neither man expected. A separate plot description frames the setup similarly, with the pilot forced to eject over Russian wilderness before being rescued by a local who shares an uneasy mix of differences and common ground with him.

The broader premise centers on an American Navy pilot stranded behind enemy lines during the Cold War who forms an unlikely alliance with a former KGB agent while trying to escape Soviet territory. The comedy angle appears to be as central to the film’s identity as its action elements, with the historical setting used as a backdrop rather than the sole focus.

Filming took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which stood in for the film’s Cold War era Soviet setting. The finished film runs in the range of 110 minutes and is presented in English and Russian.

Where to Watch ‘Mayday’

‘Mayday’ is being distributed by Apple TV, confirming it as an Apple original release rather than a traditional theatrical rollout. The film is set to stream exclusively on Apple TV Plus starting September 4, 2026, meaning a subscription to the service will be required to watch it at launch.

This places ‘Mayday’ alongside other recent Apple originals that have skipped a wide theatrical run in favor of a direct to streaming premiere. Commentary on the film has already suggested it could become one of Apple TV Plus’s more entertaining original movies of the year, citing Reynolds’s established charisma and Branagh’s scene stealing performance.

The film is rated for general audiences seeking a mix of theatrical and streaming content, and Rotten Tomatoes has already begun tracking early attention around its release. Given the film’s PG-13 rating and broad genre mix of action, adventure, and comedy, it appears designed to draw a wide audience once it lands on the platform.

With Reynolds and Branagh fronting a Cold War set buddy comedy that Apple clearly hopes will resonate beyond typical streaming fare, the real test will come once subscribers get their hands on it in early September. What do you make of pairing Ryan Reynolds’s comedic instincts with Kenneth Branagh’s dramatic weight for a story built around a stranded pilot and a former KGB agent finding common ground.