We are ripe for another underdog sports story, and an upcoming 2023 film is set to deliver just that. Instead of following the rise of an actual sports star, Air will instead track the rise of Nike, and how the company managed to score professional basketballer Michael Jordan in 1984 before he was even drafted into the NBA. What is interesting about the movie is that it follows Nike rather than following the Chicago Bulls star.
You might want to know more about the upcoming film, including its cast, and release date, so let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Air.
Everything you need to know about ‘Air’
The film was written by Alex Convery and was directed by Ben Affleck, who also directed Argo and The Town. In addition to directing the film, Affleck also stars as Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike, Inc. Air is set to release on April 5, 2023. Matt Damon is the star of the movie, as he plays Sonny Vaccaro, the executive who was responsible for signing Michael Jordan to the company. You can watch the trailer for Air above.
In addition to Affleck and Damon, the film also stars the following actors in the following roles.
- Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser
- Chris Messina as David Falk
- Marlon Wayans as George Raveling
- Chris Tucker as Howard White
- Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan
- Matthew Maher as Peter Moore
- Tom Papa as Stu Inman
- Julius Tennon as James R. Jordan Sr.
- Joel Gretsch as John O’Neil
- Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler
- Barbara Sukowa as Kathy Dassler
- Jessica Green as Katrina Sainz
- Dan Bucatinsky as Richard
Based on the characters that will be featured in the movie, it seems like it will end once Jordan accepts the contract and wears the Air Jordans for the first time. Strasser, Falk, Raveling, and White are all people involved with either Jordan or Nike, while Viola Davis and Julius Tennon have been cast as MJ’s parents.
As for Michael Jordan’s involvement in the film, well while his parents have been cast he has not. He will instead be appearing in archive footage. The reason he won’t be in the film is that this is not a Michael Jordan movie. Sure, Michael Jordan’s exploding popularity after the 1984 Olympics might be one of the reasons Nike ended up succeeding in their venture, but the story of what happened after they signed Jordan is not the story being told in Air.
Instead, this will be a tale of a different court. It is about how the executives at Nike managed to make a deal that ended up making the company over a billion dollars. Catch Air when it lands in theaters on April 5, 2023.