Entertainment

Jimmy Stewart Biopic Officially Honors Service Members and Veterans With New Release

Nairavoice · Nov 6, 2026 · 5 min read

KJ Apa may have missed out on Marvel’s new X-Men project, but he’s officially back in theaters with the long-awaited Jimmy Stewart biopic this weekend. During a press session for the film, Apa revealed exclusively to Collider that he screen-tested for a role in Marvel’s X-Men reboot, which is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on May 5, 2028. While he didn’t reveal which role he auditioned for, there is rampant fan speculation that it was either Gambit or Cyclops — the rebooted version of Gambit has not yet been announced, but Kit Connor has been cast as the new Cyclops. Apa was once only known for his role as Archie in Riverdale, but he’s since blossomed into one of Hollywood’s brightest up-and-coming stars with plenty of other exciting roles in the works.

However, for KJ Apa, none of that can start until he finishes the press tour for Jimmy, which is finally out now in theaters after months of promotion and anticipation. The movie is set at the peak of Jimmy Stewart’s stardom, after he had just won the Academy Award for his role in The Philadelphia Story in 1941. He then chose to leave his Hollywood life behind and enlist in the Army Air Corps, where he flew over 20 combat missions before rising to the rank of Colonel. It also explores how his service helped give It’s a Wonderful Life its impact that still resonates 80 years later.

This afternoon, the team behind Jimmy officially announced a global base buyout for service members and their families, courtesy of the Timothy T. Day Foundation and Lockheed Martin. Free screenings to see Jimmy will take place on opening night for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen and their families at the same time that viewers around the world are going to theaters to see the movie. An exclusive clip of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band in Jimmy can be found below.

The first film not in the English language to win Best Picture, in the Academy’s
92-year history to that point.
It took four Oscars in one night: Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International
Feature.
It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019 by a unanimous jury vote, the first Korean film
to do so.
The Park family’s modernist house was not a location. It was built from scratch on an
outdoor lot.

Seven Oscars, including three acting wins for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee
Curtis.
Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.
The visual effects were handled by a team of fewer than ten people, most of them
self-taught.
Ke Huy Quan had all but left acting for two decades before this role brought him back.

Seven Oscars, including Nolan’s first wins for directing and for Best Picture.
Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. both took their first Academy Awards for it.
Kodak engineered a black-and-white 65mm stock that did not previously exist so Nolan could
shoot those sequences on IMAX.
A three-hour, R-rated drama about theoretical physics that passed 950 million dollars
worldwide.

Four Oscars, among them Best Picture and Best Director for Iñárritu.
Emmanuel Lubezki’s win here was the middle of three consecutive cinematography Oscars,
after Gravity and before The Revenant.
Antonio Sánchez’s improvised drum score was ruled ineligible for the score category,
which caused a minor uproar.
The long-take illusion was built from a handful of extended shots joined by hidden cuts.

Four Oscars: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem.
Adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel, with much of his dialogue carried over
intact.
Carter Burwell’s score runs about sixteen minutes and is nearly inaudible by design.
Roger Deakins was nominated twice that year, for this and The Assassination of Jesse James,
and won for neither.

‘Jimmy’ Is Fully Approved by the Stewart Family

“I truly believe that my father would not only have approved of the film, JIMMY, but he would have been proud of the tribute it pays to his wartime service. He would have been especially moved by the collaboration between the film’s producers and the many organizations who have enabled our military, veterans, and first responders and their families to see JIMMY for free,” said Jimmy’s daughter and the film’s executive producer, Kelly Stewart Harcourt. “If Dad were alive today, he would say, with his hand to his heart, ‘This means more to me than I can tell you.'”

“I truly believe that my father would not only have approved of the film, JIMMY, but he would have been proud of the tribute it pays to his wartime service. He would have been especially moved by the collaboration between the film’s producers and the many organizations who have enabled our military, veterans, and first responders and their families to see JIMMY for free,” said Jimmy’s daughter and the film’s executive producer, Kelly Stewart Harcourt. “If Dad were alive today, he would say, with his hand to his heart, ‘This means more to me than I can tell you.'”

Jimmy was written by Justin Strawhand and directed by Aaron Burns, and the film holds a solid 65% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which is less than 10% away from earning the Certified Fresh label. Additional cast members for the film include Neal McDonough as Alexander, Max Casella as Frank Capra, Kara Killmer as Lady Julia, Jason Alexander as Louis B. Mayer, and Rob Riggle as Colonel Terrill. Neal McDonough also serves as one of the executive producers of Jimmy.

Check out Jimmy in theaters around the world and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the film.