Netflix’s New Star-Studded War Epic Gets Gruesome & Gritty in Explosive R-Rated Trailer

Netflix’s latest theatrical release is a new World War II epic with a star-studded cast and acclaimed director behind the camera. The streaming platform is officially expanding its output on the big screen, and what better way to do so than a visceral, action-packed experience already being described as “powerful” and “poignant” in early reviews from critics. Now, ahead of its debut this weekend, audiences can get a good taste of the brutality of the R-rated feature.

A Red Band trailer has been released for The Mosquito Bowl, a new war drama set to hit theaters on Oct. 30, before making its streaming debut on Nov. 25. The film follows a group of former star football players who enlist in the U.S. Marines during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Based on the true story told in Buzz Bissinger’s 2022 book, the Netflix feature not only covers the gruesome realities of war, but the legendary football game played by soldiers on Christmas Eve on the island of Guadalcanal, aptly dubbed the Mosquito Bowl.

Unlike previous trailers, the Red Band preview for The Mosquito Bowl does not shy away from the graphic violence displayed in the visceral war sequences. As four football players-turned-soldiers — Nicholas Galitzine as John McLaughry, Bill Skarsgård as Bob Bauman, Ray Nicholson as Tony Butkovich, and Tom Francis as David Schreiner — turn away from their passion to enlist in the war, the footage shows off the brutality of ground warfare. The trench fights are then juxtaposed with the soldiers playing some hard-nosed football, including in the titular match before the Battle of Okinawa.

Peter Berg’s visceral direction takes center stage in the new Mosquito Bowl preview, with the camera following the soldiers as they enter battle and face enemy after enemy. The filmmaker is known for hard-hitting action in real-life thrillers like Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, and his upcoming Netflix film feels like a direct continuation of that thread. Moreover, Berg returns to his early 2000s roots by way of the football side of The Mosquito Bowl. He previously directed the seminal sports drama Friday Night Lights in 2004, before creating the Emmy-winning NBC series of the same name in 2006.

In addition to Nicholas Galitzine (Masters of the Universe), Bill Skarsgård (The Crow), Ray Nicholson (Novocaine), and Tom Francis (Jay Kelly), The Mosquito Bowl features an ensemble cast that includes Brent Comer, Pat McAfee, Dominic Bogart, Stacy Clausen, and Ella Newton.