The film is directed by J.D. Dillard - known for Sleight and Sweetheart – and it tells the story of two American pilots (one of whom was Jesse Brown, the first African-American aviator in history) who risked their lives during the Korean War and became the most famous pilots in the U.S. Navy.
Filming began a few weeks ago in Savannah, Georgia, and it stars Glen Powell (Hidden Figures), Joe Jonas (Dash & Lily, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation), Jonathan Majors (Captive State) and Thomas Sadoski (John Wick: Blood Pact). The film has special significance for the director as his father - also African-American - was a U.S. Navy pilot.
Jesse LeRoy Brown has a remarkable life story. He overcame poverty and faced racial segregation to attend college and he became a highly skilled aviator by the age of 23. He was the first black man to be trained by the U.S. Navy to become a pilot and became the first black pilot to participate in combat. He participated in twenty missions until his plane came under fire and crashed into a mountain in December 1950. Although he survived that crash, he died of his serious wounds despite the fact that his partner Thomas J. Hudner Jr. crashed his own plane to rescue him.
The Korean War is often referred to as "The Forgotten War", so it is no coincidence that the story of Brown and Hudner is only known within military circles. That's why Dillard wanted to bring it to life and make it popularly known through this film, which is based on Adam Makos' book, Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice.
"It’s true that the sky was one of very few places where Jesse could fully be free," says the director in an interview with Deadline. He adds: "At 15,000 feet, his decisions are his own and he controls the vessel in which he moves through the world. But I think it’s really important for a movie to also fully represent the joy and wish fulfillment of Blackness (...) to represent the resilience required to get to that point and watch his joy having made his dreams come true. That’s also a really important thing to honor in the movie.”
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