After working together for decades on the World War II miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific, collaborators Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will conclude their trilogy with Apple TV+'s Masters of the Air.
While “Band of Brothers” followed the Army's 101st Airborne Division and “The Pacific” focused on the 1st Marine Division – both in the midst of World War II – “Masters of the Air” turns its attention to the skies, around the 100th. Bomb group of the Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the Air Force.
While the focus on “Bloody Hundredth” rounds out the miniseries trilogy by paying respect to all three major military groups, the original idea for the show came from Spielberg's late father, who served in the Army Air Corps and died in 2020 at the ripe old age of 103.
“[Spielberg’s father] I saw “Band of Brothers” and said, “Yeah, that’s good…but when?” [are] Are you going to do one about the pilots and the air war over Europe?'” Goetzman said in a recent interview with TheWrap. “When Steven mentioned it, we laughed and thought about it – we didn't really know we were going to do a trilogy at the time – but it was in the back of our minds.”
Following the tradition of adapting novels by acclaimed war historian Stephen E. Ambrose and his son Hugh Ambrose, the trio took to reading books about air warfare and were inspired by Donald L. Miller's Masters of the Air: America's Bomber “sells boys who fought the air war against Nazi Germany.”
“We actually saw enough in the Eighth Air Force and Bloody Hundredth stories that we thought, 'Okay, let's get started,'” Goetzman said, recalling hiring John Orloff and other screenwriters to work on the Adaptation of the extensive novel to begin.
“Masters of the Air” features a number of young officers and pilots. who face the brutal physical, emotional and psychological effects of war. The story centers on the close bond between Major John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner) and Major Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler). Although the two were supposed to be friends “no matter what,” the chemistry between Turner and Butler allowed for a deeper connection than originally anticipated.
Austin Butler and Callum Turner in “Masters of the Air” (Apple TV+)
“Initially there was a kind of forced friendship between them,” Goetzman said. “They are friends, they get along, they think each other is funny, ridiculous and talented. They both respect her talent to fly these B-17s.”
While Buck and Bucky arrive at the air base as the highest-ranking and most experienced pilots, the nine-episode series finds its heartbeat in narrator Major Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle), a green and lovable navigator who rises through the ranks of the Air Corps despite battling insurmountable airsickness in the first episode .
Identifying Crosby as the narrator felt like a “natural thing,” according to Goetzman.
“We love the sound of Anthony Boyle's voice and expanded his voice-over range a little because we liked it so much,” Goetzman said.
“Masters of the Air” premieres January 26th (Apple TV+)
In addition to Turner, Butler and Boyle, “Masters of the Air” features a strong ensemble of young officers and pilots – including Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Barry Keoghan, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook and Ncuti Gatwa – some of whom are confronted with the crushing reality of war earlier than others.
The series combines the two failed missions that left dozens of soldiers missing with moments of levity and humor on the base, highlighting the war effort's dependence on young men, many of whom arrived at the British base as young as 18 or 19.
“We look at them as boys, and these guys went there with really bad odds — they didn't really know exactly what they were doing or what the approach was,” Goetzman said, noting that operational systems were being built at the same time as massive losses. “They were losing men every day, but they believed in the cause they were fighting for. They believed that this was for freedom and democracy and that the people of the world did not have to live under a tyrant like Adolf [Hitler.]”
On each mission, 10 members of the 100th Troop were transported into a B-17, known as a “flying fortress” for its protection from all sides. But the lack of surviving B-17s forced the Masters of the Air crew to improvise.
“There aren't many of them [B-17s] It's not that easy to integrate them into a system that you can shoot a movie with, so we built a few new ones,” Goetzman said, adding that the team used gimbals. Rotisserie cranes and anything they thought “might be suitable for visualizing war in the sky.”
Goetzman praised the actors for doing their best in rehearsals while absorbing the knowledge of B-17 pilots and maintenance experts, saying, “They all didn't waste any time getting there – they were ahead of us.” – they wanted it.” They knew down to the smallest detail what their special tasks were or what their characters looked like.
Although “Masters of the Air” concludes the miniseries trilogy, Goetzman noted that this likely won't be the last of his collaborations with Spielberg and Hanks, teasing that Hanks is currently writing a sequel to “Greyhound” for Apple.
“I think we're going to make films that may or may not resonate in this space,” Goetzman said. “There will be more in the film for nine hours, it will take you many years,
The first two episodes of Masters of the Air are now streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes releasing every Friday.
