'The Mosquito Bowl' from Peter Berg First Photos - Netflix Tudum

  • First Look

    See Behind-the-Scenes Photos from Director Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl

    The wartime epic, from the director of American Primeval and Friday Night Lights, filmed in Australia.
    By Stephan Lee
    Jan. 7, 2026

The cast and crew of The Mosquito Bowl, the upcoming film by director, writer, and producer Peter Berg, sent home photos from the battlefield where they shot in Queensland, Australia. Take a sneak peek at the action below.

Starring Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea of You), Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu), Ray Nicholson (Smile 2), and Tom Francis (You Season 5), The Mosquito Bowl is based on the true story of four top American college football stars who set their fame aside to enlist in the Marines following the attack on Pearl Harbor. As they prepare for the brutal invasion of Okinawa, they participate in a legendary game featuring some of the greatest players in history — a game that, for many, will be their last.

Joining the cast in the supporting role of a US Marine drill instructor is American sports analyst and host Pat McAfee, along with Brent Comer and Dominic Bogart.

Behind-the-scenes photo of Director Peter Berg with the cast of ‘The Mosquito Bowl.’

Filming on The Mosquito Bowl took place late last year, as announced jointly by Netflix and Screen Queensland, the Australian government-owned agency that invests in locally made films, series, and digital games.

“I’m thrilled to be in Queensland filming The Mosquito Bowl with some of the best crews in the world. The landscapes here are cinematic gold — perfect for bringing this story to life,” Berg said. “So far, I’ve crossed paths with two kangaroos and a couple of pythons, and I’m seriously considering casting them! Huge thanks to Screen Queensland for their incredible support in helping make this production possible.” 

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Combat and sports are rich territories for Berg, the director of American Primeval and Friday Night Lights, and The Mosquito Bowl is the latest project out of the creative partnership between Berg’s Film 44 and Netflix. It is a feature adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s instant New York Times bestseller The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. Bissinger is also the author of Friday Night Lights, which Berg adapted for film in 2003 and developed for TV in 2006.

Behind-the-scenes photo of an army helmet and a football helmet on a bench on the set of ‘The Mosquito Bowl.’

Berg’s No. 1 limited series American Primeval spent four weeks on the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (English) and racked up 35.1 million views. Film 44’s Painkiller, an earlier limited series for Netflix directed by Berg, spent five weeks on the Netflix Global Top 10 TV List (English), accumulating 29.1 million views.

Behind-the-scenes photo of Pat McAfee as Drill Sergeant and Director Peter Berg on the set of ‘The Mosquito Bowl.’

“Bela [Bajaria, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer] and the entire team at Netflix have been tremendous partners to me, both in film and television,” Berg told Netflix. “I cherish this partnership and feel fully supported as I continue on this beautiful creative odyssey. LFG!”

Berg is directing the film as well as co-writing the screenplay with Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, Twisters, American Primeval). Along with Berg for Film 44, Brian Grazer for Imagine Entertainment and Alex Gayner will produce, and Ezra Emanuel and Bissinger will executive produce.

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