First Look At Meg Ryan's Return To Rom-Coms Trades Out Tom Hanks For David Duchovny, And I'm On Board

Romantic comedies are a tried and true genre in the film world, able to make a great profit on a relatively small budget. While som fans have been missing classic rom-coms, some legends of the genre have been making returns. First we got Julia Roberts in Ticket to Paradise, and now the one and only Meg Ryan is also back. The first look for What Happens Later shows Ryan trading out frequent co-star Tom Hanks for X-File's David Duchovny, and I'm so here for it. What's more, she's also the director of the movie!

As you can see in the trailer above, What Happens Later will feature Meg Ryan and David Duchovny and ex-lovers, who end up stranded together in an airport. This first footage highlights her credits, which include some of the best rom-coms of all time including You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and When Harry Met Sally. Although this new flick will seemingly be using some high concepts, including a narrator that the two protagonists can hear. But with Ryan both behind and in front of the camera as director/star, I'm totally sold on this idea.

The trailer for What Happens Later opens on an experience that many of us have experienced when traveling recently: a cancelled flight. Ryan's protagonist Willa is less than thrilled, especially upon accidentally stumbling on her ex Bill (Duchovny), who she hasn't seen in 25 years. In the airport chaos, theirs are the only two flights that end up being cancelled, with the pair ending up stranded in the airport together.

The chemistry between Meg Ryan and David Duchovny is great, with both of these iconic stars having a ton of charisma in this limited footage. I'm excited to see how they go from stuffy exes to old friends, especially once the power goes down in the airport and they're left to their own devices. Give us a release date already!

As previously mentioned, there's seemingly a third major character in What Happens Later. Specifically, the airport announcer voice that seems to be taunting them throughout this first trailer. While Willa and Bill originally learn that their flights are cancelled from this announcer, they continue talking back to it and having a back and forth throughout their misadventures. Is there really someone talking to them, or is this an over the top concept added by Meg Ryan? Only time will tell, but it's another fun side to this upcoming romantic comedy.

On top of being Ryan's return to the big screen and romantic comedies, it's super impressive that she's wearing so many hats for What Happens Later. She's the movie's star, its director, and is even one of the three writers responsible for the script. Bow down for the rom-rom queen!

It's currently unclear when What Happens Later will hit theaters. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.