Mayday premieres globally on Apple TV on Friday, September 4, 2026. Ryan Reynolds plays a U.S. Navy pilot stranded behind enemy lines during the Cold War, while Kenneth Branagh plays the ex-KGB agent who becomes his unlikely way home.
The movie comes from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the writing and directing team behind Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Apple is selling Mayday as an action comedy, so the setup has explosions and espionage, but the center of the story is two very different men forced to work together.
When does Mayday come out?
Mayday arrives on Apple TV worldwide on September 4, 2026. Apple has not announced a theatrical run. The film is being released as an Apple Original Film, which means the confirmed first destination is the Apple TV streaming service rather than movie theaters.
What is Mayday about?
Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly is a hotshot Navy pilot sent on a secret mission into Russian territory in 1987. The operation collapses, and Troy is forced to eject and survive in the frozen wilderness. He is found by Nikolai Ustinov, a gruff former KGB agent who has his own reasons for helping an American soldier.
That gives the movie a clean buddy-movie engine. Troy wants to get back to his side of the border, while Nikolai knows the land and understands the people hunting them. They do not begin as friends, and the film’s humor comes from watching a confident American pilot discover that his usual plan is not useful anymore.
The official synopsis calls Mayday a genre-bending action comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head. It is not presented as a real Cold War mission or a sequel to another Apple movie. The characters and story are original creations for this film.
Who is in the Mayday cast?
Ryan Reynolds leads the movie as Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, the pilot at the center of the crash. Kenneth Branagh plays Nikolai Ustinov, the former KGB agent who knows how to survive the territory where Troy is stranded.
Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński, David Morse, and Lovell Adams-Gray are also part of the ensemble. Apple’s official material keeps the focus on Reynolds and Branagh, so the supporting characters’ roles remain mostly under wraps.
This is a different kind of Reynolds role from his usual wisecracking superhero or hitman parts. Troy is still confident and funny, but the story puts him in a situation where charm cannot solve every problem. Branagh gets the more unexpected action turn as Nikolai, who is described as a former KGB agent with a fondness for American culture.
Who made Mayday?
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein wrote and directed Mayday, and both are also credited as producers. It is an Apple Original Film from Skydance Media and Maximum Effort, with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger producing for Skydance and Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau producing for Maximum Effort.
Daley and Goldstein have already shown that they can mix action with fast comedy. Their Dungeons & Dragons movie balanced a large fantasy adventure with a group of people who constantly made their own problems worse. Mayday uses a smaller two-person setup, but the same pressure between danger and jokes is built into the premise.
What does the Mayday trailer show?
The trailer starts with Troy’s mission going wrong and then drops him into the snow with Nikolai. It shows the two men trying to move through hostile territory, dealing with armed pursuers, and arguing while they work out whether either one can be trusted. The footage also makes room for airplane action and broad comedy rather than treating the film as a straight spy drama.
The trailer’s clearest promise is the chemistry between its leads. Troy talks like someone who expects to be rescued, while Nikolai behaves like someone who has already accepted that the wilderness is in charge. That contrast gives Mayday its hook before the larger action set pieces arrive.
How can you watch Mayday?
You will need access to Apple TV to watch Mayday when it premieres on September 4. Apple has not announced a separate digital rental, physical release, or theater date. For a wider look at what is coming to the service this month, see our September 2026 streaming guide for the other movies and shows arriving alongside Mayday
Apple TV’s price changed recently, so anyone subscribing specifically for this movie can check our Apple TV pricing guide before signing up
Is Mayday worth watching?
The premise is simple, which is part of the appeal. Mayday has a recognizable star pairing, a Cold War setting, and a survival problem that can move from an airplane to a snowbank to a chase without needing a franchise backstory. It also gives Branagh a chance to play a hard-edged action character opposite Reynolds’ more modern comic energy.
The question is whether the jokes and action can share the same movie without canceling each other out. The trailer suggests Apple is aiming for a crowd-pleasing weekend watch, not a grim history lesson. We will know if that balance works when Mayday lands on Apple TV this Friday.
Would you watch a Cold War buddy movie with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, or does Mayday look too broad for its spy-thriller setup?
