Some songs come from the heart. Some come from the pain. And some, apparently, come from standing a little too close to Paul Rudd when he’s working through his feelings. This week, we tune up for Power Ballad, the new John Carney film starring Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, and Havana Rose Liu, about a washed-out musician whose original song becomes the comeback anthem for a fading pop star who may have skipped one very important step: giving credit. So does Power Ballad hit that perfect chorus of comedy, heartbreak, and musical revenge, or did this one just lip-sync its way through the theaters?
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Release Details
Title: Power Ballad
Year: 2026
Director: John Carney
Writer(s): John Carney and Peter McDonald
Top Billed Stars: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, Jack Reynor
Running Time: 98 minutes
Country of Origin: United States / Ireland
Official Release Date(s): World premiere at Dublin International Film Festival on March 1, 2026; U.K. and Ireland release/select U.S. theaters on May 29, 2026; wider U.S. release on June 5, 2026.
Other Notable Projects
John Carney — Director / Co-Writer
Carney’s major comparison points are Once, Sing Street, Begin Again, and Flora and Son. Power Ballad fits his recurring interest in ordinary people using music to reclaim identity, but this one adds a more comedic revenge angle and a bigger celebrity-vs-working-musician contrast.
Peter McDonald — Co-Writer / Cast Member
McDonald co-writes with Carney and also appears as Sandy. That dual role matters because the film seems built around conversational rhythm, music-scene specificity, and character comedy rather than pure plot machinery.
Paul Rudd — Rick Power
Rudd brings decades of goodwill from comedy, indie drama, and blockbuster work, including Marvel’s Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame. Here, the interesting move is putting that familiar affability inside a character whose wound is professional invisibility.
Nick Jonas — Danny Wilson
Jonas’s music background gives Danny instant credibility as a pop performer, while his film work includes mainstream projects like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The film uses his real-world pop-star aura to make Danny both magnetic and suspiciously polished.
Havana Rose Liu — Marcia
Liu’s presence gives the supporting cast a more contemporary indie-film flavor; she is part of the official credited ensemble alongside Rudd, Jonas, McDonald, Plunkett, and Reynor.
Jack Reynor — Mac
Reynor reteaming with Carney is notable because he previously worked with him on Sing Street. His casting gives the film another bridge back to Carney’s earlier Irish music-story world.
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