Deadline reports that Fukunaga, who won the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for his work on “True Detective” in 2014, will also produce the Apple TV+ World War II series. The project hails from Spielberg’s Amblin Television, and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone. It’s possible that “Masters of the Air” will be the first of several Apple TV+ projects that Fukunaga works on; Deadline also reported that the Cupertino tech company was nearing a first-look deal with Fukunaga to develop other television projects.
Details on “Masters of the Air” have been scarce since news broke that Apple would own the series via its own production studio back in October 2019. The upcoming limited series is based on Donald L. Miller’s nonfiction novel “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany,” which centers on the Eighty Air Force that helped turn the tide against Germany in World War II. Related Times Have Changed, but ‘Little America’ Returns for Season 2 as Sweet and Smart as Before Apple’s MLS Streaming Service Costs Twice as Much as an Apple TV+ Subscription Related 2023 Oscars: ‘Avatar’ Is the One to Beat in Visual Effects Influential Awards Bodies Reshape 2023 Best Documentary Feature Race“Masters of the Air,” which will consist of 10 episodes, marks the third installment in Spielberg’s saga of World War II-centric series. Spielberg previously worked on “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” both of which received widespread critical acclaim. The former project premiered in 2001, while “The Pacific” premiered in 2010. “Masters of the Air” is the first in the saga that will not premiere on HBO. Apple has been aggressively courting new IPs and creatives to bulk up the content library for its Apple TV+ streaming service, which launched in November 2019. “Masters of the Air” marks Spielberg’s second project for the platform; Spielberg executive produced “Amazing Stories” which premiered in March for the streamer. As for Fukunaga, the director’s upcoming “No Time to Die” was recently delayed to April 2021. The Bond film was originally scheduled to premiere in theaters in April 2020 but has been repeatedly delayed due to the United States’ myriad theater closures. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
