Masters of the Air, which finally has a trailer, looks like peak Dad TV

Up, up and away! Masters of the Air, spiritual sequel to 2001's Band of Brothers, the award-winning World War II series seen from the perspective of “Easy” Company in the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, is finally taking flight after more than a decade in the making.

While 2010's The Pacific, also helmed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, took the Allies to the atolls and shores of Japan, Masters of the Air from Apple TV+ is set to do exactly what it says on the tin, bringing us the stories of the brave airmen who fought in the skies.

Then there's that exciting cast: Austin Butler, basically unknown before he did Elvis, takes a leading role among the series' tantalisingly talented young ensemble. Barry Keoghan, Ncuti Gatwa; who the hell isn't in this show? And Cary Fukunaga, director of Daniel Craig's Bond swansong No Time to Die, takes up directing duties for the first three episodes.

Along with an air drop of first-look images (see below), Apple TV+ announced that Masters of the Air is set to land on 26 January next year.

Another care package descended from the skies in November. This time we cracked the crate open and found nowt less but a shiny new trailer. Finally! It debuts two-minutes and eight seconds of high flying action, landscape shots of the English countryside transported to the '40s and handsome close-ups of every single male actor under the age of 35.

Here's everything else we know.

Is there a trailer for Masters of the Air?

There is, and it has something for everyone! Bloody peril at 30,000 feet. Planes being swatted by flak fire as if flicked out of the sky by God. Tomes of historical facts, for the dads. And for the mums, girls and gays, every single handsome actor you can think of under the age of 35, framed in handsome close-up to accentuate their Hollywood cheekbones and such. Who can complain about that?

Other notes: Austin Butler's Faustian bargain was clearly to do the Elvis accent in every performance, ever, until he wins an Oscar, or something. Barry Keoghan looks as delightfully feral as he always does. And what a way to cap off what has been a stellar year for Dad Movies, with a trailer for the Dad-est TV show we've ever seen, ever. Which we obviously mean as a compliment.

Check out the trailer below:

Is there a release date for Masters of the Air?

Masters of the Air will hit screens on 26 January 2024.

Austin Butler's looking fly, boy, in the first images released for Masters of the Air

Huge news for men who have favourite planes (going by a recent Twitter meme, that's every single guy on the planet) — the first images for Masters of the Air have finally been airdropped. They make for a compelling tease of the show, showing off the key cast in their handsome flyboy uniforms. In other words: they're looking fly, boy. None look quite so dashing as series lead Austin Butler, who appears in a thick leather bomber kitted out with all the fashionable accessories (read: an M1911 pistol and a life jacket).

There was more to be found as we rummaged through the supply crate. Apple TV+ were kind enough to offer a longer synopsis for the show:

Based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name, and scripted by John Orloff, 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.

Ranging in location from the bucolic fields and villages of southeast England, to the harsh deprivations of a German Prisoner of War Camp, and depicting a unique and crucial time in world history, Masters of the Air is enormous in both scale and scope, and a genuine cinematic achievement.

More images below.

What is Masters of the Air about?

As the above synopsis suggests, it's adapted from Donald L. Miller's 2007 tome on the Allied bombings of Nazi Germany, titled — yeah, you guessed it — Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany. (You can get a copy of a newer edition here, albeit with a slightly different subtitle.)

“Historian and World War II expert Donald Miller brings us the story of the bomber boys who brought the war to Hitler's doorstep,” reads the official blurb. “Unlike ground soldiers they slept on clean beds, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of the travelling Air Force bands. But they were also an elite group of fighters who put their lives on the line in the most dangerous role of all.”

So it'll be largely set in England, between the pastoral landing strips, barracks and country taverns. This was corroborated by some set photos shared by the Daily Mail, which show a stretch of land in Buckinghamshire turned into a five-million quid, WWII-style U.S. airbase. But more on that below…

Who is in the cast for Masters of the Air?

Who isn't in Masters of the Air? Is probably a better question. It's a who's who of up-and-coming talent, much like its Band of Brothers predecessor which bolstered the careers of Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy and James McAvoy.

Like the King himself, Elvis star Austin Butler has too enlisted in the military and is heading up the cast.

Butler plays Major Gale Cleven, one of the real-world subjects in Masters of the Air, whose life in the airforce is summarised on the American Air Museum's website. By 1943, Cleven was stationed at Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk, carrying out bombing raids on the likes of Bremen and other targets in mainland Germany.

He was later shot down west of Osnabruck, where he was captured by the Luftwaffe and sent to a German POV camp, Stalag Luft III, enduring terrible conditions as the war trundled to a close.

Elsewhere in the hot young crew, we'll see Barry Keoghan in one of the 356 roles he's got coming up that includes the Gladiator sequel and a double-hander with Jacob Elordi in Saltburn. There's also Callum Turner, best known for his role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Raff Law (very much the son of Jude) in a first major role, Anthony Boyle, who originated the role of Draco Malfoy in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, soon to be Doctor Who and Barbie star Ncuti Gatwa, Nate Mann, Ben Radcliffe and… Sawyer Avery Spielberg (we'll let you work that one out yourselves).

Where was Masters of the Air filmed?

Back in 2021, it was revealed that the show is shooting — at least partially — on a full-scale U.S. Airforce base constructed for the show in the rolling hills of Buckinghamshire. According to the Mail, the huge production space used to be the site of a disused university and hotel.

Now, the swathes of grass are pocked with early-20th Century ‘Nissen Huts,’ the barrack structures famous for housing Allied soldiers and equipment in both World Wars.

The tech they've got for the B-17 bomber interiors is super impressive, too, if not quite the Tom Cruise route of actually flying the damn thing (do they even make B-17s anymore?)

Shots shared on social media showcase sprawling warehouse sets housing B-17 components, surrounded by “the Volume": effectively a circular screen that envelops the area outside the cockpit, which allows for the high-fidelity replication of the sky, clouds, and other atmospheric effects. If you're a Star Wars fan, you'll probably recognise it from The Mandalorian, where they use a similar setup to piece together digital alien landscapes.

Other sites cited online include a German POW camp recreation, also costing the production upwards of five million quid. Damn Tom and Steven, you really spared no expense.