The life of movie actor Jimmy Stewart is inching closer to the big screen.
Set to debut in theaters Nov. 6, 2026, Burns & Co. Entertainment released the first look at KJ Apa (“Riverdale”) as the World War II veteran and famed “It’s a Wonderful Life” star, Jimmy Stewart.
The teaser trailer, which dropped on Dec. 17, opens with Apa performing Stewart’s famed monologue as forlorn George Bailey reaching his breaking point while sitting at Martini’s bar in the fictional town of Bedford Falls.
The trailer then spans to Apa, surrounded by flashing camera lights as the voice of Louis B. Mayer, played by Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”), tells Apa “You are a star. And America needs stars right now.”
The movie will chronicle Stewart’s rise in Hollywood — including his Academy Award-winning performance in “The Philadelphia Story” — before his shock enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps in March 1941, shortly before the branch became the U.S. Army Air Forces.
For his part, Stewart’s fight began long before he entered the war. The 6-foot-3-inch Stewart weighed only 138 pounds, and the Army initially turned him down — something that the trailer hints at.
According to historian Richard L. Hayes, Stewart began eating “spaghetti twice a day, supplemented with steaks and milkshakes.” At a second physical in March 1941, he still had not gained enough weight to be eligible but he talked the Army doctors into adding an ounce or two so he could qualify, then ran outside shouting to fellow actor Burgess Meredith, ‘I’m in! I’m in!’”
Not satisfied to simply sit stateside selling war bonds, Stewart fought for active duty and subsequently served as a combat pilot, flying 20 missions in Europe in a B-24 Liberator.
That experience would shape his life and his acting forevermore. Less than a year after his return home, Stewart famously starred in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” delivering the now iconic, tear-soaked monologue: “God, God, dear Father in Heaven. I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope. I … show me the way, oh God.”
The moment had been spontaneous. When director Frank Capra tried to reshoot, Stewart looked at the director and said, “Frank, I can’t do that again. Don’t ask me.”
Stewart’s tears were not the product of acting — as talented as Stewart was — but that of a buried reservoir of emotions tied directly to his wartime experiences.
“Jimmy Stewart was an American hero,” Apa said in a Wednesday statement.
“He was among a certain breed of men who understood the true meaning of sacrifice by fighting for our freedom. He was also among the greatest actors of all time. … His story portrays the absolute best of what one human has to offer his country.”
Starring with Apa is Max Casella (“Boardwalk Empire”) as Frank Capra and Jen Lilley (“General Hospital”) as Gloria Stewart, Jimmy Stewart’s wife. Aaron Burns is both directing and producing the film, while Stewart’s daughter, Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, is executive producer.
“I am thrilled and grateful that Burns & Co. is making the film, ‘Jimmy,’ about my father, Jimmy Stewart. It highlights the part of Dad’s life of which he was most proud: his military service,” said Stewart-Harcourt.
“I have long thought that it would be hard to find an actor who could bring my father to life without doing an extended Jimmy Stewart impersonation. But that actor has been found and his name is KJ Apa,” she said.
Claire Barrett is the Strategic Operations Editor for Sightline Media and a World War II researcher with an unparalleled affinity for Sir Winston Churchill and Michigan football.
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