Alan Ritchson and Brad Pitt's 'War Machine' Films Not Related

Netflix released Alan Ritchson's War Machine on March 6, 2026. The sci-fi action film, directed by Patrick Hughes, follows recruits in the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program whose final training mission goes wrong when a robotic killing machine from a comet appears.

The cast includes Dennis Quaid, Esai Morales, and Jai Courtney, and the film runs 107 minutes. Netflix also hosts a different War Machine from 2017 starring Brad Pitt and directed by David Michôd. That version, with Ben Kingsley, RJ Cyler, Topher Grace and Anthony Michael Hall, plays as a satirical take on military bureaucracy as Pitt's General Glen McMahon confronts absurd obstacles during a rebuilding mission in Afghanistan.

Beyond sharing a military setting and a title, the two films have no narrative connection. Ritchson's movie is fast-paced, science-fiction action centered on survival against a non-human threat, while Pitt's is a biting comedic critique of leadership and the systems behind military operations.

Afghanistan

alan ritchson, brad pitt, war machine, netflix, patrick hughes, david michôd, dennis quaid, science fiction, military satire, robotic machine