Netflix's Epic New WWII Movie Officially Debuts a Harrowing Trailer

"Dad movie" genres collide in The Mosquito Bowl, a new movie about a fateful football game on the brink of one of America's deadliest World War II battles. The skirmishes of the gridiron serve as a relief from the horrors of war in the movie, which will premiere in theaters on October 30 before making its Netflix debut on November 25. Now, viewers can get a first look at the movie in a new trailer.

The Mosquito Bowl is a reunion for two of its key creators. The movie is based on The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, a non-fiction bestseller by sportswriter Buzz Bissinger, who first gained prominence for his 1990 book Friday Night Lights, which chronicled a year in Odessa, Texas, a town that lives and dies with its high school football team. His cousin and longtime friend is director Peter Berg, who wrote and directed the film adaptation of that book, and would also go on to create and executive produce the movie's acclaimed TV spinoff. The Mosquito Bowl is directed by Berg; he also co-wrote the script with Mark L. Smith (The Revenant).

The year is 1944. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into World War II, and they're now entrenched in a brutal island-by-island campaign in the Pacific as they inch closer to Japan's strongholds. The Battle of Okinawa looms; it will change the course of the war, but over 100,000 men will be dead by the time it ends. As American Marines prepare for battle, among them are some college football stars who put off promising careers to serve their country. And so, in the seething jungles of the Pacific, they'll have one last chance to hit the gridiron before facing their destiny in the game that would come to be known as the Mosquito Bowl. 65 Marines played in the game on Guadalcanal, which was plagued by biting insects; 15 of them did not survive Okinawa. Now, viewers can experience those three hours of innocence before the coming onslaught.

Who Stars in 'The Mosquito Bowl'?

The film features the acting talents of Nicholas Galitzine (Masters of the Universe) as John McLaughry, Bill Skarsgård (It: Welcome to Derry) as Bob Bauman, Ray Nicholson (Smile 2) as Tony Butkovich, and Tom Francis (Jay Kelly) as David Schreiner. Pat McAfee, an NFL kicker turned broadcaster, will play a drill sergeant.