Fans are already going crazy over the trailer for Air, the new Ben Affleck-directed (and starring) film about Nike shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro's quest to sign then-rookie basketball player Michael Jordan to wear the brand’s shoes.
The clip, which dropped during the Super Bowl this weekend, features the star-studded cast that has been tapped to tell the interesting story, including Ben’s best pal Matt Damon and Viola Davis.
But there is one question on everyone’s mind since the trailer was first made public, and that is: who plays Michael Jordan in the movie Air?
WHAT IS THE MICHAEL JORDAN MOVIE AIR ABOUT?
Interestingly enough, the movie Air, scheduled to drop in theaters on April 5, does not strictly focus on NBA legend Michael Jordan's rise to epic levelS of fame. In fact, to put it simply, Air is about the shoe line that, throughout the years, has become synonymous with the player's outstanding talent.
The biographical drama film was written by Alex Convery and directed by Ben, who also stars in the production.
According to an official synopsis, the tale follows "Sonny Vaccaro, a shoe salesman at Nike, [who] works to sign rookie Michael Jordan to a deal to wear their shoes."
As can be noticed in the trailer, the journey was not a straightforward one. On the one hand, Sonny had to convince the brand that pursuing a yet-to-be-discovered basketball player was worth the trouble. On the other hand, Michael’s family was not immediately on board with the salesman’s plans.
WHO STARS IN THE MICHAEL JORDAN MOVIE AIR?
Film buffs are very excited about the upcoming release of the film - and for good reason. In addition to Ben, the cast is filled with instantly recognizable stars that will surely deliver a memorable movie.
Ben, who recently made headlines given his odd disposition at the Grammys alongside wife Jennifer Lopez, specifically stars as Phil Knight, the current co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc. who was previously the company's CEO.
Ben’s best-friend-in-real-life Matt takes on the role of Sonny alongside Jason Bateman's Rob Strasser, a former Nike Inc. executive that was heavily involved in the launch of the Air Jordan shoe line. Unfortunately, Rob passed away at the age of 46 back in 1993.
The cast also includes Chris Messina as American sports agent David Falk and Marlon Wayans as George Raveling, a former college basketball player and coach that actually first introduced Michael to Sonny.
Theater goers will also be delighted to catch Chris Tucker as Howard White, a former coaching staff at Maryland that joined Nike in 1978 to deal with the company's Eastern NBA clients, and Viola as Deloris Jordan, Michael's mother.
WHO PLAYS MICHAEL JORDAN IN THE MOVIE AIR?
One character was blatantly missing from the Air trailer: Michael Jordan himself. Given that the project is more about the Nike Air shoe line than Michael the person, we're not surprised not to have seen the sports legend represented in the clip but folks are nonetheless confused and wondering who will play the superstar in the movie.
Unfortunately for fans of Michael, the character will likely not even appear in the movie so leaving him out of the trailer was obviously done on purpose.
"Jordan will be a mythic figure hovering above the movie and never seen, even as Vaccaro tries to reach him by gaining access to those close to him," noted The Hollywood Reporter back in 2022.
HOW TO WATCH THE MICHAEL JORDAN MOVIE AIR
Air, which was picked up by Amazon Studios, is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 5.
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