Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh Team Up in Cold War Action Comedy Mayday, Set for Sept. 4 on Apple TV+

Apple Original Films has dated its Ryan Reynolds–Kenneth Branagh action-comedy Mayday for a September 4 debut on Apple TV+. The release date was unveiled during the company’s Apple TV press day, where the studio also revealed a first-look image from the film.

The Cold War–set feature pairs Reynolds and Branagh as unlikely allies after a covert U.S. military operation goes disastrously wrong. Reynolds plays Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a swaggering Navy pilot dispatched on a classified mission deep inside Russian territory. When the assignment collapses, Troy finds himself stranded behind enemy lines with little hope of extraction.

His fate takes an unexpected turn when he’s discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a hardened former KGB operative whose fondness for American pop culture complicates what should be a straightforward capture. As mutual distrust gives way to necessity, the two men form a tenuous partnership that could mean Troy’s survival — and for both, an unforeseen personal connection.

Marcin Dorociński, Maria Bakalova and David Morse round out the cast.

Mayday is written, directed and produced by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the filmmaking duo behind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The project hails from Skydance Media, with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger producing for the studio. Reynolds produces through his Maximum Effort banner alongside George Dewey, Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau, with John G. Scotti serving as an executive producer.

The film adds to Apple’s growing slate of star-driven original features aimed at blending spectacle with broad, international appeal.