Summary

• "Masters of the Air" missed the opportunity to showcase Austin Butler's singing talents in a fun scene.
• Despite being a war drama, the series has lighter moments that highlight the camaraderie among the unit .
• While Butler played Elvis Presley in another project and showcased his singing abilities, the series didn't capitalize on it.

Masters of the Air had the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the singing talents of Austin Butler but completely missed it. Based on the 2007 book Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi by Donald L. Miller, the war drama miniseries Masters of the Air is a companion to the miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Masters of the Air takes viewers back to 1943 to follow the 100th Bomb Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit in the Eight Air Force.

Masters of the Air takes place in eastern England, during World War II, as the unit prepares for any missions they might be called to, while also exploring some of its ' personal struggles. Masters of the Air doesn’t have an established protagonist, instead focusing on different characters, among them Major Gale “Buck” Cleven, played by Austin Butler. Out of the whole unit, so far Buck seems to be the calmer one, and his incredible flying and leadership are undeniable. Despite Masters of the Air not being a musical, it had one fun scene where the series could have seized Butler’s other talents.

Masters Of The Air's Singing Scene Doesn't Utilize Austin Butler

Not everything in Masters of the Air is drama and battles on board the planes – there are also lighter moments where the camaraderie and brotherhood among the of the unit is shown. Masters of the Air episode 2 saw the group enjoying a fun evening of dancing, drinks, and music after their successful mission to Norway (and after confirming that Barry Keoghan’s Biddick and his crew safely crash-landed in Scotland). Buck’s friend, Major John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner), decided to show his singing skills against his colleague’s wishes and went to the stage to sing with the band.

Leaving Bucky’s singing talents (or lack of them), it’s a fun and even heartwarming moment in Masters of the Air, but the series completely missed the chance of having Austin Butler sing in this scene, too. Butler’s big break arrived in 2022 when he played Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, for which he trained in many areas to better portray the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll.

As a result, Butler provided the vocals for the scenes of a young Elvis, while Presley’s vocals were used in the scenes of an older Elvis Presley. Butler proved he can sing and is pretty good at it (whether he’s doing it as Elvis Presley or not), so it would have been fun to see him sing in Masters of the Air out of his Elvis character.

How Austin Butler's Masters Of The Air Role Compares To Elvis

Of course, Butler’s characters in Masters of the Air and Elvis are very different in of backstory, setting, story, and more, but they also have some interesting similarities. Both Buck and Elvis are confident and there’s a unique coolness to both, which are traits that were definitely key to their success in their respective careers. Buck and Elvis are also very charming and charismatic, but there’s also some darkness in their pasts. It’s to be seen if Masters of the Air will capitalize on Austin Butler’s singing talents in later episodes, but it missed a great opportunity in episode 2.