Apple TV Drops 'Mayday' Trailer Ahead of Sept. 4 Release

Q: Why is Ryan Reynolds' new Cold War comedy being compared to the dark psychological thriller *Misery*?

Ryan Reynolds’ new Cold War comedy *Mayday* is being compared to *Misery* because its filmmakers say the movie deliberately begins like a psychological captivity thriller before pivoting into a buddy action-comedy. Writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein described the film as a “spiritual cousin to *Misery*” because of its setup: Reynolds’ character, U.S. Navy pilot Troy “Assassin” Kelly, is injured after a mission goes wrong and ends up stranded in Russia, where Kenneth Branagh’s character, former KGB agent Nikolai Ustinov, takes him in and “nurses” him back to health. That resemblance is strongest in the trailer’s darker moments. Kelly is shown bedridden and vulnerable, while Nikolai explains he operated on his leg without proper anesthesia. The dynamic of an injured man dependent on an intense, unpredictable caretaker recalls Stephen King’s *Misery*, in which a wounded writer is rescued but effectively held captive by an obsessive fan. The comparison is less about the full genre of *Mayday* than about its opening tone and tension. The directors have said they wanted a “rug pull” effect: the film starts with the unease and ambiguity of a horror-thriller, then evolves into an unlikely alliance between the two men. That tonal shift is what has made *Misery* the clearest reference point.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 15

Apple TV released the first trailer for “Mayday,” a Cold War action-comedy led by Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh and set to debut on Sept. 4.
The film follows Reynolds as U.S. Navy pilot Troy “Assassin” Kelly, whose top-secret mission into Russian territory collapses and leaves him stranded behind enemy lines.
Kenneth Branagh plays Nikolai Ustinov, an ex-KGB agent with a fondness for American culture who discovers Kelly, setting up an unlikely alliance at the center of the movie.
Apple is pitching “Mayday” as a genre-bending buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller formula, with the trailer quickly drawing attention online.