Movies

See Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Reunite in New Trailer for ‘Air'

The longtime friends and Oscar winners team up again — this time for the biggest shoe story ever told

(Left), Matt Damon, (Right) Ben Affleck.
Amazon Studios

The trailer for dramedy-biopic “Air” just dropped, giving film lovers their first look at Matt Damon and Ben Affleck back together on the big screen. And it gives nostalgia lovers a look back at some peak ‘80s fashions, too. 

The two-minute trailer shows the friends, filmmakers and frequent co-stars come together to tell the story of how one of the bestselling sneakers in history — Nike’s Air Jordan — came to be. Damon and Affleck have worked side-by-side on projects from 1997's “Good Will Hunting” to 2021's “The Last Duel.”

"'Air' reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand," reads a synopsis from Amazon Studios.

Damon, 52, stars as Sonny Vaccaro, a Nike marketing executive tasked with elevating the company's shoe game. Set in 1984, Damon’s character faces the challenge of consumers not knowing “what the hell a Nike is.”

But after seeing Jordan play, he decides to bet it all on the rookie player, who was at the time a new draft pick to the Chicago Bulls out of UNC.

“I believe he’s the future,” Damon’s character says in the trailer. “And I believe his story is going to make us want to fly.”

Affleck, 50, directs the film and stars as Philip Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike who takes the big gamble. 

But the movie isn't just about the guys wearing the colorful-but-dated windbreakers in the clip.

As the description continues, "This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time."

Viola Davis, who was recently awarded EGOT status, plays the part of Jordan’s mother, Deloris, and her off-screen husband, Julius Tennon, plays the same role on screen as Jordan's father, James.

As for Jordan himself, while the story revolves around him, no one has been cast to play the one-of-a-kind NBA great in the film.

"Air" is set to hit theaters globally April 5.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

Copyright Today Digital Originals
Contact Us