Netflix on Wednesday released a teaser trailer for "War Machine," a star-studded satire featuring Brad Pitt as a fictional four-star general running the war in Afghanistan.
Netflix reportedly acquired the rights to the movie for $30 million, the biggest deal yet for the online streaming company. Produced by Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, the film will star Tilda Swinton, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Michael Hall, Topher Grace ("That '70s Show," "Traffic") and Lakeith Stanfield ("Straight Outta Compton").
Based on the best-selling book "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" by Michael Hastings, Pitt will play the fictional four-star leader Gen. Glenn McMahon.
McMahon is a thinly-veiled caricature of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who commanded coalition forces in Afghanistan before being recalled to Washington after a 2010 Rolling Stone article, written by Hastings, revealed McChrystal's inflammatory remarks about Vice President Joe Biden. The friction between McCrystal and the Obama administration ultimately led to McChrystal resigning his post.
Directed by David Michod ("Animal Kingdom"), "War Machine" takes a satirical look at the brash and loose-lipped man commanding the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Brief clips of Pitt in the teaser trailer are highly reminiscent of his portrayal of Lt. Aldo Raine in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."
"War Machine" premieres May 26 on Netflix.
