Ryan Reynolds promises to ‘get down in the mud' in new nature documentary
The Canada-born actor, 48, who co-owns Welsh football club Wrexham, will narrate the tongue-in-cheek show Underdogs for National Geographic.
In the five-part series, Reynolds will speak about the outcasts of the animal kingdom, while wildlife footage shows the unconventional hygiene choices and unsavoury courtship rituals of some of the world's strangest animals.
The trailer, released on Tuesday, features Green Day's new song Underdog written for the show.
In the teaser, Reynolds says: 'For over 135 years, National Geographic has gone to the ends of the Earth, to bring you the most stunning footage of nature ever put to film.
'But enough with the top of the food chain, it's time to shift our focus to the bottom.'
He adds that he is going past 'nature's glory hogs', while footage of typical animals that appear in wildlife documentaries is shown, to 'get down in the mud, with nature's bench-warmers, not the superheroes, the superzeroes'.
The show promises to show a cave in New Zealand, which glows thanks to millions of mucus-coated grubs, as well as a goose which lays its eggs on the top of a cliff and a koala that feeds its baby poo.
It will also feature music from British composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who has written accompaniments for the Chronicles Of Narnia films, the Shrek franchise, and Gladiator II.
The actor also said: 'Getting to work with National Geographic on Underdogs was a dream come true – mostly because I can finally watch a project of ours with my children.
'Technically, they saw 'Deadpool & Wolverine' but I don't think they absorbed much while covering their eyes and ears and screaming for two hours.
'We're so proud to elevate the unsung heroes of the natural world to the top of the entertainment food chain and can't wait for everyone to see.'
Reynolds is an executive producer on the series through his company Maximum Effort, which has worked on the Deadpool films, and the FX football docu-series Welcome To Wrexham – which has run for four series and earned eight Emmys.
The Hollywood star also released one of the biggest blockbusters of 2024, Deadpool & Wolverine, which saw the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and their characters become integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Underdogs starts airing from Wednesday June 18 at 9pm on National Geographic Wild UK, and will then come to Disney+ soon.
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