The Mosquito Bowl trailer wins early praise for blending football, friendship and the horrors of World War II

The first trailer for The Mosquito Bowl has arrived, giving viewers a tense first look at Peter Berg's World War II sports drama and the four college football stars whose lives are transformed by the war.

The Mosquito Bowl trailer out

The film, based on Buzz Bissinger's 2022 non-fiction book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, follows four of America's top college football players who abandon promising sporting careers to enlist in the US Marines following the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis play John McLaughry, Bob Bauman, Tony Butkovich and David Schreiner, respectively. Netflix describes the film as a story about the young men being pulled from the relative safety and promise of their sporting lives into the violence of the Pacific theatre.

Reactions to the trailer

For many online viewers, the premise alone appeared perfectly suited to Berg.

“Football/military drama? This just might be the most Peter Berg movie to ever exist (sic),” one reaction read, referring to a filmmaker whose previous work includes the football drama Friday Night Lights and military-focused films such as Lone Survivor.

The connection is particularly notable because The Mosquito Bowl reunites Berg with the work of author Buzz Bissinger, whose nonfiction book Friday Night Lights was previously adapted by Berg for both film and television. The new film is based on Bissinger's The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, which recounts the stories behind a real football game played by Marines before the Battle of Okinawa.

The cast has also emerged as a major talking point.

“Bill Skarsgård really evolved into a phenomenal actor with a ton of range (sic),” one viewer wrote, while another highlighted the ensemble more broadly: “Nicholas Galitzine, Broadway actors Tom Francis and Brent Comer, and Bill Skarsgård. COUNT ME IN! (sic)”

Francis, known for his acclaimed Broadway work in Sunset Boulevard, is making his first feature film appearance with The Mosquito Bowl. Netflix has said the four leading actors developed a close bond during production, mirroring the story's focus on friendship and brotherhood

Some viewers are already looking beyond the trailer and predicting a longer legacy for the film.

“This is going to be one of those rare brother-in-arms movies that stands the test of time and becomes a true classic (sic),” another reaction said.

Not every response, however, was entirely serious or uncritical. One viewer joked that they had expected “the actual mosquitos” to win the Mosquito Bowl. Another raised concerns about the historical details, writing that they could smell “those historical inaccuracies from miles away (sic)”.

The trailer's heavily stylised visual grading also divided opinion. “Might as well make it in black and white if they are going to grade it this hard (sic),” one viewer joked, referring to the film's desaturated look.

There was also curiosity over Netflix's release strategy. “Netflix is releasing a movie in theaters? They must have a lot of confidence with this movie (sic),” one reaction noted.

The Mosquito Bowl is scheduled for a select theatrical release on 30 October before arriving on Netflix on 25 November.