Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell swap late-night shows, promote movies they haven't seen on Fallon and Kimmel

Jimmy Fallon introduced his guest Will Ferrell on Wednesday's Tonight Show, and — in either a carefully orchestrated prank or counterintuitive publicity stunt — Ryan Reynolds came out on stage. Meanwhile, 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel had a similar experience, welcoming a pajamaed Ferrell after introducing Reynolds. Both actors are promoting new movies, but they did not directly promote their own films Wednesday night.
"I just put the kids to bed, I was walking the dog around the block, Will called, said he was running a little late, asked me if I'd jump in for him, and I said, 'Anything for you, Will,'" Reynolds explained to Fallon after sitting down. Fallon noted he had prepared questions for Ferrell, and Reynolds told him to fire away.
"Look, I made a solemn swear on the life of my children that I would deliver this for him, 20 minutes ago, and I'm going to do it, I'm going to talk The Shrink Next Door," Reynolds said. Fallon pointed out that his own movie is also coming out this weekend, and Reynolds stopped him right there. "No, we're not talking about Red Notice while I'm here. If you bring up Red Notice, you will taste the back of my hand." He then described The Shrink Next Door as an "Ant-Man-adjacent" Marvel film (it's not), and seemed as surprised as anyone at the trailer.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In Los Angeles, Kimmel appeared equally surprised at the last-minute switch, and Ferrell was equally committed to promoting the movie he was not in. "I'm just excited for Red Notice!" he said. "Oh, are you in Red Notice?" Kimmel asked. "I am not," Ferrell replied. "I haven't seen a stitch of it." Kimmel had, so after Ferrell fumbled around for the plot, Kimmel set up the clip. And after that, he made Ferrell pay for the substitution, starting with some of the questions he would have asked Reynolds then just messing with his purportedly unexpected guest.
Perhaps it's clever gonzo marketing, perhaps Ferrell and Reynolds just didn't want to fly across the country for a late-night interview. But at least it was something new.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imagination
Feature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?
Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play