The Mosquito Bowl is an upcoming American sports drama film directed by Peter Berg and produced by Film 44 and Imagine Entertainment for Netflix. It is based on the 2022 Buzz Bissinger book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, which is about the Mosquito Bowl game played during World War II. The film will star Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis in the leading roles. The film will have its world premiere at tbe 2026 AFI Film Festival on October 22, 2026.
Premise Four top American football players enlist in the United States Marine Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While preparing for the battle of Okinawa, they play a football game, the Mosquito Bowl, that later becomes famous.
Cast Nicholas Galitzine as John McLaughry Bill Skarsgård Ray Nicholson Tom Francis Brent Comer as George Murphy Pat McAfee as a drill instructor Dominic Bogart as Wilkes Stacy Clausen Ella Newton as Jane
Production Development The film is based on Buzz Bissinger's 2022 The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, which is about the Mosquito Bowl. While American Primeval, also directed by Berg, was in post-production, a friend's son recommended that he make an adaption of the book during a dinner, following which Berg stated "everything just clicked". Production for the film began in 2025. The film is directed by Peter Berg, and co-produced by Berg with Film 44, Brian Grazer with Imagine Entertainment, and Alex Gayner. Berg and Grazer previously collaborated on Friday Night Lights (2004), another sports film adaptation of Bissinger's work. Berg and Mark L. Smith co-wrote the script, while Ezra Emanuel serves as the executive producer. Production of the film was announced in April 2025, and will be distributed by Netflix. It is an action drama sports film.
Casting In late April 2025, it was announced that the actors Nicholas Galitzine and Bill Skarsgård were cast in leading roles. The film also stars Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis. In July, Brent Comer joined the cast as George Murphy, a quarterback from the University of Notre Dame. Pat McAfee, a former NFL player, will also appear as a drill instructor.
Filming The Mosquito Bowl began filming in August 2025 in Queensland, Australia. Berg praised the natural landscapes, calling it "cinematic gold" and "perfect" for the book's transition to a visual medium. Scenes were also shot in Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island, for one day in November 2025. By December 2025, filming had wrapped.
Music
Explosions In The Sky, the post-rock band who has previously worked with the director in his previous films, has composed the film score.
Release The Mosquito Bowl will open in U.S. theaters on October 30 before its Netflix premiere on November 25.
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