Summary
- Apple's new miniseries Masters of the Air, produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg, features a massive cast of over 275 actors.
- The series, released on January 26, 2024, draws thematic and stylistic parallels to Goetzman, Hanks, and Spielberg's previous critically acclaimed war series, The Pacific and Band of Brothers.
- The primary stars of Masters of the Air are Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, and Anthony Boyle.
The new Apple miniseries Masters of the Air features a massive cast of characters with more than 275 actors attached. The highly-anticipated series is produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg and draws close thematic and stylistic parallels to their previous critically acclaimed war series, The Pacific and Band of Brothers. Initial reports of a third WWII miniseries from the team arose in 2012. The series was confirmed to be in development at HBO in 2013 but Masters of the Air took awhile to happen due to production delays and concerns about the budget.
In 2019, Apple purchased the rights to the miniseries based on the 2006 book Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany written by Donald L. Miller. The two primary stars of Masters of the Air, Austin Butler and Callum Turner, were announced back in February 2021 with production finally beginning in April of that year. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation, True Detective, No Time to Die) directed the first four episodes of Masters of the Air. The series has been adapted for the screen by John Orloff, who wrote the scripts for two episodes of Band of Brothers. Masters of the Air is streaming exclusively on Apple+ on January 26, 2024.
Austin Butler As Major Gale 'Buck' Cleven
Austin Butler plays one of the leading roles in the WWII miniseries: the bright-eyed Major Gale 'Buck' Cleven. Butler, who was born in Anaheim, California, first rose to prominence in the 2010s with leading roles in The Carrie Diaries and The Shannara Chronicles. However, Butler has become famous more recently for his authentic portrayal of music legend Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic Elvis, which Tom Hanks also appears in. His earliest projects include Nickelodeon series like iCarly and Zoey 101. Butler's new role, Gale Cleven, is portrayed as a cool and collected major with incredible flying skills.
Callum Turner As Major John 'Bucky' Egan
Callum Turner stars alongside Butler as Major John 'Bucky' Egan. Turner grew up in London, England and earned his big break in Hollywood when he starred alongside Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) as Theseus Scamander. Turner later appeared in 2020's Emma as Frank Churchill, and acts alongside Joel Edgerton in George Clooney's 2023 historical sports film, The Boys in the Boat. Turner's character, John Egan, is a brave soldier with a big personality that, at times, gets him into trouble.