Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s upcoming movie about the birth of the Air Jordan brand and the partnership between Nike and Michael Jordan is on the way.
The film, officially dubbed “Air,” is slated to release in cinemas on 5th April 2023, before hitting Prime Video later this year.
This ’80s comedy-drama tells the story of how retired sports executive John “Sonny” Vaccaro enticed Michael Jordan to sign with Nike nearly four decades ago. The deal went on to become one of the most lucrative deals in sneaker history.
Cast-wise, Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight, while Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike marketing executive who signed Michael Jordan for a deal with the company, leading to the development of the Air Jordan line. Meanwhile, Viola Davis stars as Deloris Jordan, who was instrumental in negotiating the deal on behalf of her son.
The cast expands with Jason Bateman (as Rob Strasser), Chris Messina (as David Falk), Marlon Wayans (as George Raveling), Chris Tucker (as Howard White), Matthew Maher (as Peter Moore), Gustaf Skarsgård (as Horst Dassler), and Julius Tennon (as James Jordan).
In the meantime, here’s a roundup of all key characters you need to know of before watching the film:
Ben Affleck as Nike’s CEO ‘Phil Knight’
Phil Knight co-founded and built the Nike Corporation. He was previously chairman and CEO of the company, until retiring in June 2016 after 52 years at the company.
Matt Damon as ‘Sonny Vaccaro’
Former Nike executive—Sonny Vaccaro helped Nike sign Michael Jordan to his first shoe contract.
Viola Davis as ‘Deloris Jordan’ (Michael Jordan’s mother)
Deloris Jordan is Michael Jordan’s mother. Despite Michael’s initial plans to sign with Adidas, Deloris convinced him to attend the Nike meeting and hear their offer, leading to a successful partnership with the brand.
Jason Bateman as ‘Rob Strasser’
Rob Strasser was an attorney on a lawsuit between Nike and Onitsuka, and later joined Nike as the first in-house lawyer. In 1987, Strasser left Nike and headed to adidas, which Nike co-founder Phil Knight described the move as an ‘intolerable betrayal’.
Strasser died of a heart attack in 1993 at age 46.
Chris Tucker as ‘Howard White’
The now Senior Vice President of Jordan Brand—Howard White—joined NIKE in 1978 as a Field Representative responsible for NIKE’s Eastern NBA clients. White’s business acumen and personal relationship with Michael Jordan elevated NIKE and Jordan to global icon status, generating $200 million in annual sales for Jordan’s signature line. White’s career at NIKE also took flight, landing him at company headquarters in 1991 to coordinate NIKE’s entire NBA operations.
Rob Strasser was an attorney on a lawsuit between Nike and Onitsuka, and later joined Nike as the first in-house lawy
Marlon Wayans as ‘George Raveling’
Michael Jordan named recent Hall of Fame inductee George Raveling as the man who deserves credit for him signing with Nike.
“Prior to all of that, Sonny (Vaccaro) likes to take the credit. But it really wasn’t Sonny, it was actually George Raveling. George Raveling was with me on the 1984 Olympics team (as an assistant coach under Bob Knight). He used to always try to talk to me, ‘You gotta go Nike, you gotta go Nike. You’ve got to try.’
It was Vaccaro who finalized the deal after Jordan was wowed by the Nike presentation.
Matthew Maher as ‘Peter Moore’
Peter Moore designed the first Air Jordan basketball shoe in 1985—the Air Jordan 1 and the Jordan brand’s iconic Jumpman logo. He is also credited as the designer of the Air Jordan Wings logo.
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