Movies

Meg Ryan staging rom-com comeback after more than a decade away

Meg Ryan is making her rom-com comeback.

The “When Harry Met Sally” actress will direct and star in an upcoming romantic comedy “What Happens Later.”

Ryan, 60, shared a poster for the film on Instagram with the caption: “HERE WE GO!!”

The actress will headline alongside “The X-Files” star David Duchovny, 61, in the “evolved and nostalgic” spin on a romantic comedy, according to Variety.

The movie is based on Steven Dietz’s play “Shooting Star” and follows ex-lovers Willa (Ryan) and Bill (Duchovny), who are reunited by force when they’re snowed in at an airport overnight. Willa is independent, while Bill is recently separated and assessing his life and relationships with his estranged wife and daughter, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The official logline reads: “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,” Variety reported. The film’s tagline is the travel-ready phrase: “They missed their connection.”

The film will be Ryan’s second directorial credit after starring in and directing the 2015 movie “Ithaca.”

The “Sleepless in Seattle” icon is best known for collaborations with the late writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron. 

It’s been nearly 25 years since “You’ve Got Mail” captured everyone’s hearts, and over a decade since Ryan appeared in a rom-com. In 2009, Ryan starred in Cheryl Hines’ “Serious Moonlight” alongside Kristen Bell and Timothy Hutton.

Ryan told the New York Times Magazine in 2019 that she was writing a romantic comedy that she hoped to direct.

“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 said at the time.

“What Happens Later” will begin filming in Bentonville, Arkansas, sometime this year with a release date expected for 2023. Bleecker Street acquired the rights, with HanWay Films kicking off sales at Cannes Film Festival.