Summary
- Meg Ryan returns to rom-coms in What Happens Later, starring and directing alongside David Duchovny, evolving the genre with an older couple.
- New behind-the-scenes provide insight into the film, showing Ryan and Duchovny huddled at a bar and Ryan in her directorial role.
- Ryan's active role in the rom-com suggests her acting hiatus is ending, potentially bringing a new generation of roles for her.
Meg Ryan will return to the world of rom-coms starring and directing in What Happens Later. Coming into stardom in the late 1980s, Ryan has fronted a number of Hollywood classics including Top Gun, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail. Now, eight years since her last movie appearance, Ryan will star opposite David Duchovny in the rom-com where an ex-couple reunites after being stuck at an airport.
In a set of newly released images, Entertainment Weekly provided insight into behind-the-scenes moments and stills from What Happens Later.
One image shows Ryan and The X-Files alum Duchovny huddled together at a bar and another sees Ryan in her directorial role, focused in on a camera. Ryan shared that the movie "evolves the rom-com genre just a little bit." She added that the movie both features an older couple and is "romantic and sexy," illustrating that rom-com stories do not have to confine themselves to one age group.
The Significance Of Meg Ryan Returning To Hollywood
While Ryan directed and starred in the 2015 drama Ithaca, those who have seen the 1986 Top Gun perhaps were surprised she did not make a return to Hollywood last summer when the Top Gun sequel was released. Carole Bradshaw, the widow of "Goose," could have acted as an intermediary between Pete and Bradley or provided context behind the aftermath of Goose's death. Ultimately, Top Gun: Maverick did not see Ryan reprise her role as it was revealed that Carole also ed away in the thirty years since Goose's death.
Considering that in the late 80s and 90s Meg Ryan appeared in a new movie nearly every year, her absence from any recent projects has not been unnoticed. Taking such an active role in this rom-com may suggest that her acting hiatus is coming to a close and could bring audiences a new generation of roles for Ryan.
Currently, significant plot points surrounding What Happens Later are few and far between as the only known storyline is two exes rehashing their past when facing flight delays at an airport. Viewers can see the Meg Ryan on October 13 when What Happens Later is released in theaters.
Source: EW
