British acting legend Kenneth Branagh stars in first-look clip for Ryan Reynolds film Mayday

The action-comedy arrives on the streamer this weekend.

Published: Tuesday, 1 September 2026 at 3:00 pm

Subscribe to Radio Times: 10 weeks for £10, including the Christmas double issue

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh have teamed up for a new action-comedy coming to Apple TV this week – and Radio Times can exclusively reveal a first-look clip from the film.

Ad

Mayday – which is set at the height of the cold war in the 1980s – is a buddy comedy that follows Reynolds's Troy, a US Air Force pilot, after he lands behind enemy lines in Russia and finds an unlikely ally in the shape of a former KGB agent (played by Branagh).

It is written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the duo who were previously behind hit 2018 comedy Game Night and the well-received fantasy adaptation Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves.

The action-packed clip begins with a man being frantically driven up to a plane as it's preparing to take off and asking his driver to "pull up close to the cabin door."

Meanwhile, the characters played by Reynolds and Branagh are in the cockpit of the plane, with the former instructing the latter to close the plane's door.

Before he can do so, however, the man in pursuit is able to make his way inside the plane and a violent brawl ensues. You can check out the clip in full at the top of this page.

Want to see this content?

This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.

Accept and continue

The official synopsis for the film provided by Apple reads: "Reynolds plays hotshot US Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy "Assassin" Kelly, whose Cold War mission goes disastrously wrong, leaving him stranded in Russian territory.

"He’s discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with an unexpected fondness for American culture. What follows is a sharp, action-packed, character-driven buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head."

Mayday is released on Apple TV on Friday 4 September 2026. You can sign up to Apple TV for a seven-day free trial.

Ad

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Patrick Cremona, smiling against a lime green background.

Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

Ad

Ad

Get the Christmas double issue

Too much to watch at Christmas? Let Radio Times do the choosing to find something the whole family will enjoy.

Subscribe by 3 Dec

Loading...

Ad

Loading...