If Top Gun: Maverick’s F/A-18E pilots had you in awe of their spectacular aerial displays, then the real-life pilots of the Navy-Marine Corps are sure to leave you speechless. The Blue Angels is an all-new aviation documentary from Amazon MGM Studios that takes a deep dive into the workings of the titular Flight Demonstration Squadron as they prepare for one show season. The film chronicles a year at The Blue Angels, focusing on the selection and training regimen that culminates into an eight-month show season with nationwide performances. The Blue Angels is directed by editor-filmmaker, Paul Crowder (The Beatles: Eight Days a Week) and produced by J.J. Abrams. Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell, who played LT. Jake "Hangman" Seresin, an F/A-18E pilot in the film, also serves as one of the producers.

The Blue Angels is set to take the audience behind the scenes of what goes behind a flight demonstration and what it takes for a pilot to become a Blue Angel. The 94-minute film goes inside the cockpit for a close-up view of the aerial displays while also featuring the challenging selection process and the training that follows to prepare the incumbents for a demanding performance schedule for the show season that would soon follow. Viewers will be treated with never-before-seen footage of the station, its staff, training modules, and methods, and also include interviews and conversations, showcasing the extraordinary teamwork and passion of the pilots and team members as they get ready to jet off into the horizon. The Blue Angels also marks the first time to feature the squad’s famous blue and yellow F/A-18 Super Hornets in an impressive, IMAX format.

Officially known as the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels were formed in 1946 as a Navy flight exhibition team by order of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz. The unit is the second-oldest formal aerobatic team in the world after France’s Patrouille de France, formed in 1931. The Blue Angels are known for their stellar flight demonstrations and perform at least 60 aerial displays across 30 locations across the United States (and one in Canada). This year, as the Blue Angels turn 78, audiences worldwide can take an inside look at the elite flight team and go behind the scenes of their latest show season.

While you wait for the elite flight team to take off for the big screen, check out our quick guide below for the trailer, release date, plot, cast, and everything we know about The Blue Angels.

Does 'The Blue Angels' Have a Release Date?

Released by Amazon MGM Studios, The Blue Angels is set to premiere in IMAX theaters on May 17, 2023, and will be screened for a week, followed by a global streaming release on Prime Video on May 23, 2024.

Will 'The Blue Angels' Be in Theaters?

You can experience the adrenaline-charged documentary in both theaters and on streaming, though we highly recommend watching it on the big screen for the ultimate experience. The Blue Angels will be first screened at IMAX theaters from May 17 – 23, 2024, and will be available to stream on Prime Video on and from May 23, 2024. The streamer is also home to Top Gun: Maverick, so you can do a double feature with the Tom Cruise movie and the all-new documentary.

Also going nationwide on May 17 is John Krasinski's family film IF, the music biopic Back to Black, and the horror prequel Strangers: Chapter 1.

Watch on Prime Video

Is There a Trailer for 'The Blue Angels'?

Unveiled in March 2022 by Prime Video, the official trailer of The Blue Angels showcases jaw-dropping maneuvers and dramatic displays by the latest team of the titular flight demonstration team. Filmed in IMAX, the footage depicts immersive views of the brilliant blue and yellow Super Hornets swooshing across the horizon. The audience is treated with a firsthand view of their flying prowess, as the pilots maneuver with awe-inspiring precision. “The first time you take off, you’ve got to push the ‘I believe’ button,” comes a voiceover as the footage opens and takes the audience on a thrilling ride. The exciting aerial shots are interspersed with interview clips of some of the squad members, including Commanding Officer Alexander Armatas, who talks about how he ended up becoming a Blue Angel, followed by Lieutenant Commander Amanda Lee sharing the risks that the pilots take every time they are airborne. The trailer also touches upon what goes into the training before the squad can take the show on the road, which will be explored further in detail in the film.

If most scenes in this film appear exactly like those we have seen in Top Gun: Maverick, it's because everything we see in The Blue Angels is real, where real pilots take real risks, every single time, which inspired the action-thriller and several similar films about pilots.

What Is 'The Blue Angels' About?

The official synopsis for The Blue Angels reads:

The Blue Angels have been enthralling people, across the country and around the globe, for more than 75 years. Now, Amazon MGM Studios and IMAX bring a brand new documentary – The Blue Angels – that will take audiences soaring with the Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron as never before. Filmed for IMAX, the immersive footage puts you in the cockpit for a firsthand view of the Blue Angels’ precision flying, while the aerial shots deliver a spectacular showcase of the breathtaking maneuvers that have made them the world’s premier jet team.

The Blue Angels also takes audiences behind the scenes for a revealing, in-depth look at what it takes to become a Blue Angel—from the careful selection process to the challenging training regimen, and on through the demanding eight-month show season.

The film is a fitting tribute to the extraordinary teamwork, passion and pride of the hundreds of outstanding men and women of the Navy and Marine Corps who have had the honor to serve in the Blue Angels squadron...past, present and future.

Who Stars in 'The Blue Angels'?

The Blue Angels is a documentary and will feature the real-life officers of the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. The film focuses on the newest class of Navy and Marine Corps pilots as well as the veterans of the team who are completing their tours of duty before returning to the fleet.

As seen in the trailer, some of the featured officers include Commanding Officer Alexander P. Armatas, from New York who joined Blue Angels in 2022 and has 4,100 flight hours and 911 carrier-arrested landings to his credit; Lieutenant Commander Amanda Lee of Mounds View, Minnesota, with 1800 flight hours and over 225 carrier-arrested landings, and Lieutenant Commander Griffin Stangel of Madison, Wisconsin, with 1,855 flight hours and over 190 carrier arrested landings.

Apart from them, the film will also feature other key members of the on-ground support staff, all of whom take part in the training and preparation for the squad’s show season.

Who Is Making 'The Blue Angels'?

The Blue Angels is directed by Paul Crowder, a British musician turned filmmaker. The award-winning producer, director, and editor is best known for his editing work for Dogtown and Z-Boys, and Sound City: Real to Reel. His work on the 2005 documentary film about the origins and history of surf culture, Riding Giants, won him an Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary Film. He was nominated for the American Cinema Editors Eddie and Primetime Emmy for editing the Grammy-winning, 2016 documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, directed by Ron Howard. Crowder also previously co-directed and edited the 2007 Who documentary film, Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who.

Emmy-winner J.J. Abrams, a filmmaker known for creating popular sci-fi shows like Alias, Lost, and Fringe, and directing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, serves as a producer for The Blue Angels under his Bad Robot Productions banner, along with Hannah Minghella. He is set to launch his next television project with the Max crime thriller series, Duster. Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell also produces the documentary under his BarnStorm Productions banner. Following his latest rom-com film, Anyone but You, Powell will next appear in Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters.

Other producers for the aviation documentary include Crowder’s long-time creative partner, Mark Monroe (Icarus) of Diamond Docs, and award-winning filmmakers Glen Zipper (Undefeated) of Zipper Bros Films, and Sean Stuart (Challenger: The Final Flight) of Sutter Road Picture Company. Rob Stone, Greg Wooldridge, IMAX’s Megan Colligan and John Turner, and Dolphin Entertainment’s Bill O’Dowd and Emerson Davis serve as executive producers of the film.

When and Where Did 'The Blue Angels' Film?

Although Prime Video doesn’t detail the filming location of the documentary, the trailer reveals that The Blue Angels was most likely filmed during an air show season, when the team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.