After a decade of development at the hands of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, and roughly four gruelling years of production, Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air has finally locked in a release date — January 26th, 2024.
This “sequel”/companion series to HBO’s Band of Brothers and The Pacific is based on Donald L. Miller’s book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany; and follows the exploits of the United States Army Air Forces’ 100th Bombardment Group during World War II.
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As per the official description:
“Masters of the Air follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen, and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air.”
“Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of Masters of the Air. Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.”
“Masters of the Air is a salute to the brave men of the 8th Air Force who, through their courage and brotherhood, helped defeat Nazi Germany in World War II,” executive producer Gary Goetzman said via statement.
“Tom and Steven have always wanted to visualise cinematically what our author Don Miller has called this ‘singular event in the history of warfare.’”
“We’re thrilled that Apple TV+ has given us the opportunity to combine the efforts of so many talented people, on-screen and behind the camera, to tell this important story.”
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The hotly-anticipated miniseries has been principally directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (No Time To Die), alongside Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel), Dee Rees (Mudbound), as well as HBO veteran Tim Van Patten (The Pacific, Boardwalk Empire, Rome, The Wire, The Sopranos).
The story has been adapted by Band of Brothers scribe John Orloff.
As for the all-important matter of cast members, Masters of the Air features the following:
- Austin Butler as Major Gale Cleven
- Barry Keoghan as Lt. Curtis Biddick
- Callum Turner as Major John Egan
- Anthony Boyle as Major Harry Crosby
- Nate Mann as Major Robert Rosenthal
- Raff Law as Sgt. Ken Lemmons
- James Murray as Major Chic Harding
- Kai Alexander as Sgt. William Quinn
- Freddy Carter as Lt. David Friedkin
- Nikolai Kinski as Colonel Harold Huglin
- and plenty (plenty) more
With a production budget somewhere between US$200 million and US$250 million divided across 9 episodes and a whole lot of waiting, expectations are sky-high.
Once again, Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air release date is January 26th, 2024. Check out the first-look images above and below.
