Meg Ryan Returns To Rom-Com Circuit For The First Time In More Than 10 Years

Actress Meg Ryan was once known as “America’s Sweetheart” thanks to her participation in so many popular romantic comedies. “Sleepless in Seattle,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and “You’ve Got Mail” are some of the most popular titles, but Ryan starred in many more than that. 

Now the 60-year-old actress is making her return to the genre for the first time in more than a decade. It’s been reported that Ryan will star opposite David Duchovny, 61,  in “What Happens Later.” This new rom-com tells the tale of a couple that finds love while stuck in an airport.

Ryan shared a first look at the poster for the film on Instagram this week. She included the caption, “HERE WE GO!!”

Variety described the project as an “evolved and nostalgic” spin on a romantic comedy. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is based on Steven Dietz’s play “Shooting Star.” The main characters Willa (Ryan) and Bill (Duchovny) are ex-lovers who find themselves reunited by chance when they’re both caught in a snowstorm and stuck at an airport together overnight. Willa is described as “independent,” while Bill has recently separated from his wife and is trying to connect with the daughter they share. The two find love in this unlikely situation that makes for perfect romantic comedy fodder.

“All each wants is to get home, but over the course of the night, they find themselves at first reluctantly drawn together yet compelled to revisit their past, along with what could have been and what might well be again. But when the versions of their shared history don’t quite add up, where do they go from there?” THR says of the storyline.

The movie’s logline is: “What if late one snowy night you came face to face with someone from your long ago? Someone who once held your secrets, because once, long ago, that person held your heart.”  

The film’s tagline is simply, “They missed their connection.”

Ryan hasn’t starred in this type of film since 2009 when she participated in Cheryl Hines’ “Serious Moonlight” alongside Kristen Bell and Timothy Hutton. In 2019, the actress admitted she was writing a romantic comedy and wanted to direct it as well.

“I’m aware now that romantic comedies are confections, but they have construction. There’s architecture. It’s not something I was aware of back then,” she told The New York Times Magazine at the time. 

When asked if she consciously tried to be charming in rom-coms, the actress replied that charisma couldn’t be faked. “Real charm is probably innate. It’s just there or not,” she explained.

“What Happens Later” will begin filming in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2022 and has an expected release date of sometime in 2023.