After the countless war films of recent years, we can expect a large-scale war series in early 2024 that is set to top everything that has gone before: Find out here why you should definitely have Masters of the Air on your radar
In 2001, Tom Hanks created the groundbreaking war series Band of Brothers, which was followed by The Pacific in 2010. After the two mini-series focused on the Second World War on European soil and on the islands of the Pacific Ocean, the third series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg will now take a closer look at the battles in the air: Masters of the Air starts in January 2024. Below, we’ll tell you the most important facts about it:
Masters of the Air plot
Start date and streaming service
Cast & crew of the war series
Pictures & trailer
Filming, budget, innovations
What is the war series Masters of the Air about
22 years and 4 months after Band of Brothers, the spiritual sequel Masters of the Air takes to the skies in the 1940s and adapts the non-fiction book of the same name* by Donald L. Miller. 8 kilometers above the ground, the “Flying Fortress” pushes forward behind the enemy lines of the Germans. 11 men sit in the bomber
(Masters of the Air)
They belong to the 100th Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force and want to prove their courage as brothers in arms by engaging in air battles with German fighter planes. But losses and setbacks increasingly turn the desired triumph into a fight for survival. In addition, the men flying at high altitude begin to think about what the bombs they drop are actually doing to the earth.
When does the Masters of the Air series start?
The war series will be shown on AppleTV+ and will comprise 9 episodes. As is usual for the streaming service, the episodes will be released weekly, with two episodes being shown at the start. The specific start date for Masters of the Air has been announced as January 26, 2024. The last episode will be broadcast on March 15, 2024.
You can stream the previous war series Band of Brothers on WOW
Cast & crew: Who is involved in Masters of the Air?
Several famous names are involved in the Masters of the Air project. As with Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who discovered their shared interest in war films in Saving Private James Ryan, are once again involved as executive producers. The two had already initiated the project in 2012. In 2019, the series switched from HBO to AppleTV+ and finally moved forward.
The pilot war series brought director Cary Joji Fukunaga (James Bond: No Time to Die) on board for the first 4 episodes. Further episodes will be directed by the duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel) and Dee Rees (Mudbound). The screenplay was written by John Orloff (Band of Brothers) together with screenwriter Donald L. Miller.
(Master of the Air with Austin Butler)
The cast of the war series Masters of the Air
The cast of Masters of the Air includes over 100 actors with role names. It is not known whether a star faked their identity again this time to keep the series alive. Some of the most exciting and well-known cast members are as follows:
Austin Butler (Elvis, Dune 2) plays one of the main roles as airman Major Gale Cleven
Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) flies as Lt. Curtis Biddick
Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts 2) is Major John Egan
Anthony Boyle (Tolkien) plays Major Harry Crosby
Ben Radcliffe (The Witcher) plays Capt. John D. Brady
David Shields (The Crown) plays Major Everett Blakely
Rafferty Law (Repo Man) plays Sgt. Ken Lemmons
Edward Ashley (The Terror) plays Lt. Col. John B. Kidd
Elliot Warren (The Batman) plays Lt. James Douglass
Nate Mann (Licorice Pizza) is Major Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal
Darragh Cowley (The Essex Serpent) plays Lt. Glenn Graham
Freddy Carter (Shadow & Bone) plays Lt. David Friedkin
It will be exciting to see if, in retrospect, the cast of Masters of the Air will include as many hidden stars in guest roles as Band of Brothers.
Pictures & trailer for the war series Masters of the Air
In the first images for Masters of the Air, we were able to take a closer look at the cast of the war series:
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After initial brief glimpses in an AppleTV+ promo video, the first teaser trailer for Masters of the Air was finally released in November 2023:
Budget & Filming: The scale and innovation of the war series Masters of the Air explained
What makes Masters of the Air so sensational beyond the Hollywood greats involved is not least the mini-series’ huge budget, which is said to be between 250 and 300 million dollars. (For comparison: Game of Thrones’ expensive 6th season cost 100 million dollars).
One year before the start of filming, for example, this money went towards the temporary construction of authentic barracks from the Second World War in England, which had to be laboriously approved. Most of the filming took place in the UK. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Masters of the Air had to take a short break from filming in July 2022 due to positive tests
(Masters of the Air: flight scene)
In addition, the Masters of the Air series used innovative virtual cockpit sets from Lux Machina to recreate lifelike flight scenes on location. The aim is to allow the audience to experience the flight maneuvers and aerial battles up close
