THE MOSQUITO BOWL

The Mosquito Bowl Tells the True Story of Football Stars Who Went to War

They were some of the best college football players in America.

Their futures looked bright.

Then Pearl Harbor changed everything.

The Mosquito Bowl tells the remarkable true story of four young athletes who put their football dreams aside to serve their country during World War II.

Directed by Peter Berg, the filmmaker behind Friday Night Lights and Lone Survivor, the historical drama follows a group of college football stars whose lives take an extraordinary turn after the United States enters the war.

Nicholas Galitzine plays John McLaughry, a talented Brown University quarterback whose natural leadership extends far beyond the football field.

Bill Skarsgård portrays Bob Bauman, a larger-than-life University of Wisconsin player known for his fearless personality and competitive spirit.

Ray Nicholson plays Tony Butkovich, a record-setting Purdue University star whose remarkable athletic ability seemed destined to take him to the highest levels of football.

And Tom Francis portrays David Schreiner, another Wisconsin standout whose thoughtful, strategic approach to the game makes him a valuable teammate.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the four men leave behind their promising athletic careers and enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

But the transition from college football to military service quickly exposes them to a world far removed from the stadiums and cheering crowds they once knew.

As they prepare for the brutal Pacific campaign, including the invasion of Okinawa, the young Marines face the realities of combat, uncertainty and the possibility that they may never return home.

Then comes an extraordinary moment.

A football game.

Before heading into one of the war's deadliest battles, Marines who had once been among the nation's greatest college football players gather for a legendary game that becomes known as the Mosquito Bowl.

For a brief moment, they return to something familiar — the competition, camaraderie and brotherhood that brought them together long before the war.

But for some of the men on that field, it will be the final football game they ever play.

Based on Buzz Bissinger's bestselling nonfiction book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, the film reunites Berg with the author whose earlier book inspired Friday Night Lights.

Rather than simply focusing on the battles of World War II, The Mosquito Bowl explores the lives of young men who had everything ahead of them before history demanded something far greater.

They trained to become champions.

They went to war as brothers.

The Mosquito Bowl opens in select theaters October 30, 2026, before streaming exclusively on Netflix November 25.