I just finished reading the interview with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh about “Mayday”, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! Ryan Reynolds is basically the king of buddy comedies, but his new movie “Mayday” feels different. Together with Kenneth Branagh, he presents a Cold War-era story that will turn everything you know about spy movies upside down. The movie premieres on Apple TV on September 4, and you definitely don’t want to miss it.
A look behind the scenes of “Mayday”: How Ryan Reynolds & Kenneth Branagh are turning the action-comedy formula on its head
Ryan has already starred in many buddy movies. He’s starred alongside grumpy guys and hitmen before, but “Mayday” puts him in a tough spot. He plays a U.S. Navy pilot stranded behind enemy lines in Russia. He has to team up with Kenneth Branagh, who plays a former KGB agent. The film comes from the team behind Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. They wanted to create something that plays with old movie clichés rather than simply copying them.
Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley said the film is about challenging viewers’ expectations. It’s not just a loud action movie. It’s about how people see each other. They also wanted to flip the classic roles. Ryan is usually the quick-witted one, but here he comes across more like the “damsel in distress.” Kenneth Branagh, on the other hand, brings a quirky, funny energy to a character who is normally intimidating. It’s a combination you don’t see very often.
“Mayday” reimagines Cold War-era action movies (and the Ryan Reynolds brand)
You probably have a mental image of what a 1980s Cold War movie looks like. It usually revolves around American heroes and flags flying everywhere. But the directors wanted to look at it from a different angle. They don’t want to disparage these old movies, but they do want to question why we like them. Tom Cruise and Top Gun: Maverick actually helped inspire the idea. They wanted to take some of the “too cool” aura away from these fighter pilot characters.
John Francis Daley thinks the dynamic between the two stars is the best part of the movie. He said, “What I also find interesting about him in this role is that, in many ways, he’s the serious counterpart, and Kenneth provides the comic relief, so to speak.” Ryan had absolutely no problem with that. For once, he didn’t have to be the loudest person in the room.
The action scenes also look different. Special cameras were used to get right in the middle of the action. John Francis Daley explained: “We were able to use that in one part of this montage with our Russian car. We also shot a few cool split-diopter shots. We used the Sony Venice, which has a very small camera body. When mounted on a remote-controlled camera head, it allows for shots that would otherwise be impossible with larger cameras.” This makes the entire film feel more personal and less like a typical blockbuster.
Is “Mayday” the opposite of “Top Gun”? It’s complicated
The directors aren’t trying to make a didactic film. They simply want to tell a story about how people interact with one another. Ryan Reynolds says his character, Troy, initially has a very simplistic view of the world. He’s taken in by “America-first” ideas. Encountering a real Russian, like Kenneth Branagh’s character, helps him realize that people are more than just their country’s propaganda.
Ryan said, “He really gets to know a person—a Russian person. And the dynamic, kaleidoscopic range of feelings, opinions, and ideologies that this person has, while at the same time clinging to America with this romantic notion of its somehow untamable potential.” Using Top Gun as a point of reference makes it easier for us to understand Troy’s mindset. We all know this movie, so it’s a shortcut, so to speak, to understanding where he’s coming from.
Kenneth Branagh’s Unexpected Russian
You might expect Kenneth Branagh to play a classic spy villain, but this is quite different. He drew on his background in theater to make the character realistic. He didn’t want to be just another villain. He wanted the fights to look like they actually hurt. Branagh said, “For me, it was exciting to express in the film what has often been part of my career as a stage actor who performs a lot of Shakespeare. At the end of those plays, there are endless fights.”
He even went to great lengths to explore his character’s life off-screen. He wrote himself little backstories. He wanted to understand why his character lived alone in the wilderness and what she thought about America. It sounds as though he truly poured his heart into this role. Ryan was very impressed. He said: “Working with Ken and seeing how he moves in a room—a room he can transform into a place of relentless violence in the blink of an eye, only to return to being this incredibly gentle, kind, and vulnerable person—that was such a refreshing approach.”
Filming the action scenes in “Mayday”
Producing this film was hard work. A massive rocket launcher was used in one scene. John Francis Daley said they weren’t even sure if the vehicle would run at all. “In the end, we got an intercontinental ballistic missile. We had the real vehicle, and it was just spewing smoke and could have broken down at any moment—which, fortunately, didn’t happen.” They also had to build a replica airplane cabin on a massive rotating rig to shoot the combat scenes. That sounds dangerous!
The directors said it was cool to have Kenneth Branagh on set, since he’s a director himself. He understood why they needed certain shots. “He makes it look natural. He understands the task and finds a way to execute it so that it feels completely authentic,” said Daley. It sounds like everyone on set worked together as a team to make it look great.
How “Mayday” Came to Be
The shooting schedule was very packed. Ryan was working on “Deadpool & Wolverine” at the same time. At night, he edited his Marvel movie via Zoom, while during the day he was filming “Mayday”. He must have been exhausted! But he said working with Kenneth made it easy for him. “Everything just flows naturally. You show up to work, your shoulders drop, and you realize, ‘This is a wonderful playground where you can let loose.’”
And what about “Mayday 2”? Could it happen?
No one knows yet if there will be a sequel. The directors say they haven’t discussed it yet, but it would be fun to continue. Maybe the next installment could take place in America? It would be fun to see Kenneth Branagh’s character actually visit the U.S. Branagh would definitely be on board if the same team were involved. Ryan said he’d “do anything” to work with him again. I hope they make another one!
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