Apple is finally dusting off “Mayday,” a completed Skydance film it’s been sitting on for almost two years. The survival movie stars Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, and according to Puck’s sources, a release date announcement is imminent. The catch? It’s going straight to Apple TV+, likely in September. No theatrical release. Apple declined to comment.
“Mayday” is a Cold War–era action-adventure thriller starring Reynolds as a commercial airline pilot who survives a plane crash in hostile territory and becomes entangled in an international espionage conspiracy. He fights to stay alive, and is drawn into a dangerous clash involving intelligence agencies and global power players, including a key antagonist played by Kenneth Branagh.
What makes the streaming decision eyebrow-raising is the scale of the project—and the star attached to it. “Mayday” is a big-budget Skydance production, which might very well be flirting with nine figures costs. It’s a glossy, star-driven studio movie directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (“Game Night,” “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”), filmmakers with a proven track record who were recently given the task of rebooting the next Star Trek for Paramount.
And yet, Apple is skipping cinemas entirely.
That’s notable because, apparently, if you ask around, Reynolds remains one of the few genuinely bankable movie stars left. The “Deadpool” movies are billion-dollar franchise entries, “Free Guy” was a theatrical hit, and his brand of meta-comedy has proven durable across multiple demographics. Then again, he’s also been Netflix’s go-to guy for high-budgeted and disposable action hits — “6 Underground,” “The Adam Project,” “Red Notice.”
This also underscores Apple’s increasingly streaming-first philosophy. Despite earlier ambitions to be a serious theatrical player, Apple Original Films has steadily retreated, reserving theaters for prestige titles (“Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Napoleon”). However, based on past reporting, their 2024 flop, “Fly Me to the Moon,” starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson, made them rethink strategy — that film lost them over $80M. “Mayday” appears to be another casualty of that strategy shift.
“Mayday” has reportedly been finished since mid-2024, sitting in limbo with no trailer, and no marketing. There’s no clear indication of creative trouble—no reshoots rumors, test-screenings were positive. Instead, it feels like a business decision on the part of Apple.