Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, and Aquaman actor Jason Mamoa’s upcoming live-action hybrid road trip adventure Animal Friends has dropped a new release date. Animal Friends was initially slated to come out through Sony Pictures but was later shifted to Warner Bros. as part of the deal the company made with Legendary Entertainment.
Animal Friends — Plot, Casts, Crew, and Released Date
The film initially went into production back in June 2023 and concluded in April 2024. According to Deadline, Animal Friends was described as “an R-rated road trip adventure” when it was announced in April 2023. However, since then till now, there’s been no hint on the plot. Everyone related to the film has been tight-lipped about it.
Aside from Reynolds and Mamoa, the film is packed with A-list actors; Aubrey Plaza; Agatha All Along (2024), Addison Rae; He’s All That (2021), Dan Levy; Good Grief (2023), Lil Rel Howery; Vacation Friends (2021 & 2023), Vince Vaughn; Nonnas (2025), Joaquim de Almeida; Fatima (2020), Rob Delaney; Bad Monkey (2024), Eric André; Bad Trip (2021), Jimmy Smagula; Nonnas (2025), and Ellie Bamber; William Tell (2024).
Peter Atencio, who made Keanu and The Machine, is directing from a script by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider. Legendary Entertainment is producing alongside Producer Namit Malhotra of Prime Focus Studios, and Maximum Effort a production company that Reynolds co-founded, Some of the projects they have produced include Deadpool 2 (2018), Free Guy (2021), Shotgun Wedding (2022), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Visual effects and animation will be provided by DNEG, who provided the animation for the Oscar-nominated animated feature Nimona and visual effects for features like Dune: Part Two and Furiosa.
Prior to the announcement of the new release date, Sony Pictures initially set its release date for August 15, 2025. However, Warner Bros. then acquired the distribution rights for the movie and changed it to October 10, 2025. On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Deadline announced that Warner Bros. has moved Animal Friends‘ release date to May 1, 2026.
Although the reason behind the delay is yet to be known, the movie is now set to kick off next summer, along with 20th Century Studios‘ The Devil Wears Prada 2. The Devil Wears Prada 2 will hit the theaters the same day Animal Friends is scheduled to drop —May 1, 2026. The opening came after Avengers: Doomsday which was originally scheduled to be released May 2026 got delayed by Disney. Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled to be released on December 18, 2026.
SOURCE: Deadline
What are your expectations from Animal Friends? Share your thoughts in the comments on our social media platform on X @ReelMovieJunkie. Keep following the Reel Movie Junkie for more Warner Bros. content like this.
Share this:
- Share on X (Opens in new window) X
- Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
- Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
- Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
- Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
- Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
- Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
- Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
- More
Chijioke or Ceej is a Prolific Writer, a Journalist, Editor, Blogger, Author, Freelance Writer and lots more. Her articles focuses on Celebrities, Fashion, Lifestyle, Movies, Music, Wrestlings like the WWE, AEW and IMPACT! Wrestling. Her work ranges from writing press releases, Musician bios, live interviews, etc. Ceej loves to travel and this is not because she is a travel writer but because she loves to visit new places, meet new people and learn more on different cultures. When she's not writing, you'll catch her honing her Hosting/ Ring Announcing skills. Ceej loves watching cartoons and Marvel movies, and she dreams of visiting the WWE Headquarters and wishes more than anything in the world to be a WWE Superstar someday.
