It may not be the pairing you’d expect, but Deadline reports that Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh will be teaming up for Mayday, an action-adventure movie set up at Apple Original Films and Skydance.
Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, fresh off Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, are set to direct Mayday based on their original pitch. Beyond the action-adventure vibe, not much is known about Mayday at this time, but the talent involved certainly has my attention. Sources made sure to point out to Deadline that the script was complete well before the WGA strike began. I’m always down for whatever madness Ryan Reynolds is cooking up, and pairing him with Kenneth Branagh feels like a winner.
The film will be produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger for Skydance, alongside Ryan Reynolds, Ashley Fox, Johnny Pariseau and Patrick Gooing for Maximum Effort. In addition to writing and directing, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley will also serve as producers. It’s not clear when production on Mayday would begin, but the report states that it could be Reynolds’ next project after Deadpool 3.
Speaking of the Marvel Studios movie, Ryan Reynolds is currently filming the Deadpool sequel in London, but due to the WGA strike, he is legally barred from any improvisation as he’s a credited writer on the film. Deadpool 3 is set to hit theaters on November 8, 2024, kicking off Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As for Kenneth Branagh, he will next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer on July 21st. He’s also set to reprise the role of Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice, a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. The film is “set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.” A Haunting in Venice will be released on September 15th.
