Masters of the Air: Everything We Know About Band of Brothers 3

Here’s what to expect from Masters of the Air, the third installment in the Band of Brothers series, including when it might release and what its story will be. For years, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have planned to produce an Air Force-themed follow-up to Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010).

Band of Brothers and The Pacific were preceded by the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan. Directed by Spielberg and starring Hanks, the war movie begins with the U.S. military’s 1944 invasion of Normandy during World War II, and follows eight American soldiers tasked with tracking down Private First Class James Francis Ryan, a member of the 101st Airborne Division whose three brothers were all killed in action. In Band of Brothers, the narrative focuses specifically on members of Easy Company, a company within the 506th Parachute infantry Regiment. The HBO miniseries is based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 eponymous book, and won top honors at both the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

Spielberg and Hanks had even more success with The Pacific, a 2010 HBO miniseries focused on members of the U.S. Marine Corps during the “Pacific Theatre” of World War II. For source material, the filmmakers used Robert Leckie’s 1957 book Helmet for My Pillow and Eugene Sledge’s 1981 memoir With the Old Breed. Now, it seems that Spielberg and Hanks are ready to adapt new material for a different look at America’s involvement in World War II.

Masters Of The Air Is Being Made

Masters of the Air has been in development for several years. In October 2019, Spielberg and Hanks signed a distribution deal with Apple after HBO reportedly passed on the series. One year later, Cary Fukunaga was hired to direct Masters of the Air’s first three episodse. The American filmmaker most recently directed the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, and previously directed/executive produced True Detective season 1. Fukunaga also created and directed the 2018 limited series Maniac.

Masters Of The Air Release Date

Masters of the Air will release exclusively on Apple TV+. Filming will reportedly begin in March 2021 and production costs will be around $200 million. For context, Band of Brothers was produced for $125 million and The Pacific topped $200 million. Based on those numbers and the fact that each series took around 10 months to film, Masters of the Air will presumably release around December 2022.

Masters Of The Air Cast

As of November 2020, the Masters of the Air cast has not be revealed. Expect Hanks and Spielberg to assemble a lineup full of familiar faces from mainstream movies and television, but not necessarily one big-time star who may distract from the story being told. Band of Brothers features a pre-Homeland Damian Lewis as Major Richard D. Winters, along with Friends actor David Schwimmer in a smaller yet memorable role as Captain Herbert Sobel. For The Pacific, Hanks and Spielberg enlisted up-and-comers such as James Badge Dale, Rami Malek, and Jon Bernthal.

Masters Of The Air Story Details

Masters of the Air will focus on one of the longest military campaign of World War II. Specifically, the narrative will center on the “bomber boys” of the American Eighth Air Force and their battles against Nazi Germany. The military campaign has been described a “a war within a war.” [via Simon and Schuster]

About The Author

Q.V. Hough
(1892 Articles Published)

Q.V. Hough is a senior writer at Screen Rant. He’s also the founding editor at Vague Visages, and has contributed to RogerEbert.com and Fandor.

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