Masters of the Air is an upcoming series about World War II pilots, and recent movie trends have made expectations for the show bigger than ever. Specifically, the series will follow the Mighty Eighth Air Force, an American numbered air force that gained notoriety due to its heroic actions during World War II. With the series focusing on aerial combat and World War II history, Masters of the Air is under a lot of pressure to live up to audience expectations that have been raised due to some recent movie trends.

Masters of the Air is the third World War II series created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, with the show sporting a massive cast that includes the likes of Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan. After finding a common interest in the subject of World War II while working on Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks collaborated to create Band of Brothers for HBO. After the miniseries was met with critical acclaim, the two joined forces again to create a second series titled The Pacific, which garnered similar acclaim. Now, Spielberg and Hanks are finally working on their long-awaited third series, which will release on Apple TV+.

Masters Of The Air's Planes Scenes Will Need To Meet A High Standard


Masters of the Air will focus on aerial combat, but since Spielberg and Hanks created their previous two WWII shows, the standard for realism has been raised a lot. Several incredibly successful movies like Dunkirk, Top Gun: Maverick, and Devotion became notable for their incredibly realistic flying sequences, with many of the scenes actually being filmed in the air on real jets. Much of Top Gun: Maverick is real, with the film actually sending their actors up in real jets. The lack of CGI in recent movies featuring aerial combat has especially raised the bar, and Masters of the Air needs to meet these new expectations to find success.

These films have also become notable for being incredibly accurate to the real-life wars that they are portraying, something that Masters of the Air will also have to do. Spielberg and Hanks' other WWII shows, in addition to the movie Saving Private Ryan ,are also known for their realism, so Masters of the Air shouldn't have this problem. However, the fact that movies like Top Gun: Maverick are using real period-accurate jets rather than models or CGI means that Masters of the Air has to abide by an equal standard of accuracy.

How Recent Action & War Movies Will Help Masters Of The Air


While the popularity of these recent war movies raise expectations for Masters of the Air, they will actually help the series. Top Gun: Maverick was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022, while Dunkirk was nominated for loads of awards. The success of these films proves that there is a massive audience hungry for WWII stories, especially ones that heavily focus on aerial combat. With Top Gun: Maverick sparking this interesting and showing how big of an audience there is, Masters of the Air should have no problem finding success now.