Imax and Bad Robot Team up on Flight Squadron Doc ‘The Blue Angels’

The film is currently slated for release in late 2023

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Imax Corporation and Bad Robot Productions, together with Glen Powell, Zipper Bros Films, and Dolphin Entertainment, have commenced production on “The Blue Angels”, a documentary project chronicling a year in the cockpit with one of the most exclusive aviator teams in the world, the companies announced on Friday.

The logline for the documentary is as follows: “The Blue Angels” will follow the newest class of the storied Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron through intense training and into a season of heart-stopping aerial artistry, and the veterans on the team who, this year, will take their final flights. It will mark the first time the iconic blue and yellow F/A-18 Super Hornets will be featured in Imax. The film will also capture the globe-spanning spectacle of this traveling air show through key members of the support staff on the ground, as well as from loved ones left at home.

The film is currently slated for release in late 2023.

“The Blue Angels” is directed and edited by Paul Crowder (“UFO”) and produced by Glen Zipper (“Undefeated”) Mark Monroe (“Icarus”), Sean Stuart (“Challenger: The Final Flight”), Rob Stone, and Greg Wooldridge. J.J. Abrams, Hannah Minghella, and Bad Robot Productions will also produce, as will Glen Powell, who stars in the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick” and will also produce and star in the war epic “Devotion” for Sony Pictures. Dolphin Entertainment will co-finance the film with Imax.

“The Blue Angels exemplify unity, trust, and teamwork, and I can’t think of a better creative team to bring this inspirational story to the world through the expansive lens of Imax,” John Turner, head of documentaries for Imax said in a statement. “This film marks a new beginning for Imax’s pioneering filmmaking, as the first in a next generation of Imax documentaries combining the best in image capture technology and contemporary narrative storytelling.”

J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot’s Co-CEO, added: “Bad Robot has been so lucky to collaborate with Imax for years, and there isn’t a project we’ve been more excited about doing together than our very first feature documentary, The Blue Angels. The creative team is incredible, the subject matter thrilling, and it feels so fitting that a film about the very best of the best will be shot in the most exceptional cinematic format available.”

Powell added: “I made two naval aviation films back-to-back, lived on bases among our men and women in uniform, and learned firsthand what it takes for them to be the best of the best. After flying with the Blue Angels in an air show, I saw an incredible opportunity to make a world-class documentary.”

“The Blue Angels” will give audiences a never-before-seen lens on the world’s most famous flight squadron. From the speed, torque, and gravitational force of these flight maneuvers, it will be an unforgettable cinematic experience that only Imax can capture.

Since 1946 when the first team of Navy pilots was formed, The Blue Angels have had one mission: represent the armed services with teamwork and professionalism while inspiring a culture of excellence and service to the country. For 75 years, this team has delivered. Each year, The Blue Angels travel from their headquarters in Pensacola, Florida to perform all over the world in up to 30 different cities. Since its inception, the team has flown for more than 450 million spectators worldwide.

CAA Media Finance brokered the deal.

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