Dennis Quaid's 'Reagan' Biopic Finally Has a Release Date

Collider

By Rob London

Published Mar 26, 2024

The presidential biopic will hit theaters this summer.

Image via Max

The Big Picture

Reagan, a biopic starring Dennis Quaid, is set to premiere on August 30, 2024, after numerous delays, including COVID shutdowns and strikes.
The film follows Soviet spy Viktor Novikov, who narrates Ronald Reagan's story to a new Russian leader. The star-studded cast includes Jon Voight and Penelope Ann Miller.
Quaid describes portraying Reagan as an important challenge, and he's excited to work with the ShowBiz team for a summer release.

Director Sean McNamara's long-in-the-works Ronald Reagan biopic finally has a release date. Reagan, which will star Dennis Quaid as the 40th President of the United States, will hit theaters on August 30, 2024. Deadline reports that the film will be the first release from newly-formed studio ShowBiz Direct. The film has taken a long road to release; first announced back in 2010, it has suffered from a number of delays, including the Covid shutdowns and the dual SAG-AFTRA/WGA strikes of last year. Ironically, Reagan led an actors' strike himself when he was the head of SAG in 1960.

The film will center around aged Soviet spy Viktor Novikov (Jon Voight), who will narrate the story of his enemy, who he dubs "The Crusader", to a new Russian leader. The film will also star Penelope Ann Miller (Carlito's Way) as First Lady Nancy Reagan, Mena Suvari (American Beauty) as Reagan's first wife Jane Wyman, Lesley-Anne Down (Upstairs, Downstairs) as Margaret Thatcher, Nick Searcy (Justified) as Chief of Staff James Baker, C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders) as Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and Creed frontman Scott Stapp as Frank Sinatra.

Where Else Has Ronald Reagan Been Depicted On-Screen?

Reagan will be the first feature biopic of the controversial 40th President, who served two terms between 1981 and 1989. He was a supporting character in the 2013 drama The Butler, which depicted several residents of the White House, Reagan included; he was portrayed by Alan Rickman. Reagan and his family were to take center stage in the 2003 CBS miniseries The Reagans, which starred James Brolin and Judy Davis as Ronald and Nancy Reagan; however, due to controversy over its unflattering portrayal of its subjects, it was shuffled off to Showtime. There have also been two TV movies centering around John Hinckley Jr's 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan; 2001's The Day Reagan Was Shot, featuring First Blood's Richard Crenna as Reagan, and National Geographic's 2016 docudrama Killing Reagan, in which the President was played by Tim Matheson. He was also briefly featured in the second season of FX's anthology series Fargo, where he was played by b-movie icon Bruce Campbell.

Says Quaid of his portrayal, "Portraying Ronald Reagan was an enormous challenge. This is an important movie, one of my most interesting roles and I am really excited to work with the ShowBiz team to get this film opened in theaters this summer." The veteran actor has been staying busy, with roles in Full Circle and Lawman: Bass Reeves last year, and is next set to star in the action film Sovereign alongside Nick Offerman and Jacob Tremblay.

Reagan will premiere in theaters August 30, 2024. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.