Where Was ‘Mayday’ Really Filmed? Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh’s Cold War Comedy Traded Russia for These Surprising Locations
Ryan Reynolds is trading his usual quippy modern settings for a snowy 1987 Cold War landscape in ‘Mayday,’ and the film’s globe spanning production is turning out to be almost as interesting as its plot. The Apple TV original sends Reynolds behind enemy lines, but the Cold War adventure was actually filmed far from the Soviet Union. Fans tuning in for the September 4 premiere are already asking exactly where this stranded fighter pilot story came together.
‘Mayday’ had its world premiere at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City, bringing out stars Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh alongside directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The buzz around the film has only grown as details about its unconventional production trail have surfaced.
The Real Story Behind ‘Mayday’s’ Cold War Setting
‘Mayday’ is a Cold War spy thriller set in 1987, directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, and stars Reynolds as U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy ‘Assassin’ Kelly. Reynolds and Branagh team up in a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head, with the hotshot pilot sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War.
When the operation implodes, Kelly is left stranded behind enemy lines, and his unlikely lifeline becomes Nikolai Ustinov, an eccentric former KGB agent played by Branagh. The film comes from Apple Original Films, Apple Studios, and Ryan Reynolds’ own Maximum Effort banner, marking the first time Reynolds and John Francis Daley have worked together since starring in ‘Waiting’ back in 2005.
The premise leans hard into old school spy tension mixed with modern comedic sensibilities, a combination that has become something of a signature for projects tied to Reynolds’ production company. Given the film’s setting deep in Soviet territory, curious fans have been digging into just how the filmmakers pulled off that authentic Cold War atmosphere without actually shooting in Russia.
‘Mayday’ Filming Location Breakdown Across Multiple Countries
The production footprint for ‘Mayday’ was spread across several countries rather than confined to one central hub. Montreal provided the main Canadian base for the shoot and doubled for 1980s San Diego, giving the production a flexible stand in for American locations.
Filming also took place at Korda Studios in Budapest, Hungary, with production dates recorded between March 11 and June 19, 2024. Hungary supplied Budapest, Korda Studios, and several Soviet style urban locations that helped sell the film’s Eastern Bloc backdrop.
Southern France also played a role in the production, contributing practical fighter jet photography that added real aircraft footage to the movie’s Cold War action sequences. Some production databases list San Diego, California as an additional filming location, though records remain unclear about whether any scenes featuring the main cast were actually shot there.
Piecing together a Cold War world from Canada, Hungary and France is no small feat, and it speaks to how much modern blockbuster productions rely on doubling locations to recreate specific historical moments. For a film built around a very particular slice of 1987 geopolitics, the international puzzle of filming locations adds an extra layer of intrigue for viewers who like to spot the seams.
Cast and Crew Bringing the Buddy Comedy to Life
The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński and David Morse, with cinematography handled by Barry Peterson and music composed by Colin Stetson. Additional cast members who attended the premiere included Louis Cancelmi and Wendy Crewson, joining directors and writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
The producing team includes Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger, alongside Maximum Effort’s Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau, with Reynolds and George Dewey serving as executive producers alongside John G. Scotti. That kind of producing lineup signals just how much weight both Skydance and Reynolds’ own shingle are putting behind this project.
Runtime for the film clocks in at one hour and fifty minutes, and it carries a PG-13 rating for its blend of action and comedy. The pairing of Branagh’s dramatic pedigree with Reynolds’ comedic timing has already become one of the more talked about elements of the film’s marketing push.
When and Where to Watch ‘Mayday’?
‘Mayday’ made its global debut on Apple TV on Friday, September 4, 2026, following its New York premiere just days earlier. The film shares its release date with sixteen other titles hitting screens the same day, including ‘By Any Means,’ ‘Onslaught,’ and ‘Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass.’
Given the packed release slate, ‘Mayday’ will need its Reynolds and Branagh star power along with its unusual production story to stand out. The mix of Cold War intrigue and buddy comedy chemistry gives it a distinct enough hook among the crowd of new releases.
With Montreal standing in for San Diego, Hungary channeling the Soviet Bloc, and southern France supplying real aerial footage, ‘Mayday’ pulled off a genuinely international production to tell a story rooted entirely in Cold War paranoia. Now that the film has landed on Apple TV, do you think this well traveled production actually nailed the illusion of 1987 Russia, or did you spot the seams between Montreal, Budapest, and the real thing?
