Peter Berg’s Netflix WWII Football Drama ‘The Mosquito Bowl’ Gets Its First Trailer, and It’s Devastating
Peter Berg has built a career out of turning true stories into gripping cinematic experiences, from the small-town heartbreak of ‘Friday Night Lights’ to the harrowing combat sequences of ‘Lone Survivor.’ His latest project brings those two worlds together in a way that feels almost tailor-made for his sensibilities as a filmmaker.
That project is ‘The Mosquito Bowl,‘ Berg’s new World War II drama for Netflix, which tells the remarkable true story of four college football stars who set aside promising athletic careers to enlist in the Marines following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The film continues Berg’s ongoing partnership with Netflix and his production company Film 44, following earlier collaborations like ‘Painkiller’ and ‘American Primeval.’
Netflix has now released the first trailer for the film, confirming a cast led by Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis. The film is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger’s 2022 nonfiction book of the same name, chronicling how these athletes traded the gridiron for the front lines of the Pacific theater.
Galitzine takes on the role of John McLaughry, a natural-born leader who played quarterback for Brown University under his own father’s coaching before bringing that same determination to the battlefield. Skarsgård plays Bob Baumann, a Wisconsin standout described as a force of nature who charges into every fight with the same enthusiasm he brings to a room full of friends.
Rounding out the ensemble, Ray Nicholson plays Purdue star Tony Butkovich, while Tom Francis takes on the role of David Schreiner, Baumann’s Wisconsin teammate. Together, the four actors portray real men whose athletic camaraderie carried directly into the trenches of war, forming the emotional backbone of the film’s story about brotherhood forged under extreme circumstances.
Berg’s approach to filmmaking has always leaned heavily into authenticity, and this project pushed that philosophy even further. Galitzine described the experience as unlike anything he’d previously encountered in his career, telling Netflix’s Tudum that Berg’s filmmaking method meant the cast handled nearly everything themselves with limited stunt doubles, including explosions detonating just feet from their faces and flames actually catching on them during filming.
That commitment to realism extended beyond the action sequences themselves. According to reporting on the production, the demanding physical preparation required for the roles helped strengthen the real-life bond between the four leading actors, with the cast drawing comparisons between the camaraderie of a football team and the brotherhood found among Marines, a parallel that mirrors the very story the film sets out to tell.
Berg both directs and produces the film, working alongside Brian Grazer for Imagine Entertainment and producer Alex Gayner. Buzz Bissinger, whose book inspired the project, serves as an executive producer alongside Ezra Emanuel and Jeb Brody, giving the adaptation direct input from the author who originally uncovered this piece of World War II history.
‘The Mosquito Bowl’ is set to hit select theaters on October 30 before making its way to Netflix on November 25. That staggered release strategy mirrors how Netflix has handled several of its higher-profile awards-adjacent titles this year, giving the film a theatrical window before it becomes widely available to stream.
With its blend of sports drama and wartime sacrifice, ‘The Mosquito Bowl’ looks poised to be one of Netflix’s more ambitious releases as the year winds down, offering a story that honors real men whose athletic legacy became inseparable from their service.
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