The Forgotten Hijacker Who Out-Coopered Cooper
Every time a new true crime documentary drops, we brace ourselves for another retelling of the D.B. Cooper legend—the man who hijacked a Boeing 727 in 1971, took $200,000, and parachuted into myth. That case is folklore now. But here comes American Skyjacker, and it's about a man who didn't just imitate Cooper—he amplified the chaos.
Martin McNally, a name buried under headlines of the era, hijacked an American Airlines flight out of St. Louis in 1972. Demanded $500,000. Then jumped out the back of the jet. He survived, astonishingly. And unlike Cooper, McNally stuck around to tell the tale.
The new trailer doesn't just sell us reenactments and archival footage—it promises a fever dream of crime, love, and reckless ambition told directly by McNally himself.
A Crime Wave Lost to Time
Between 1967 and 1972, more than 300 planes were hijacked worldwide. Over 130 of them happened in America. It's a number that makes the post-9/11 traveler recoil. But back then, hijacking was so frequent it became almost… normalized. Cooper was the headline. McNally was the sequel—only wilder, messier, and far more cinematic.
The documentary leans into that insanity. Prison escapes. Romantic entanglements. The surreal culture of an era where anyone could smuggle a weapon onboard with little more than confidence. As the trailer flashes between grainy news footage and stylized reconstructions, you feel the blur of fact and myth—the kind true crime thrives on.
From Podcast Hit to Cinematic Reenactment
Directors Eli Kooris and Joshua Shaffer, who already turned this saga into a #1 trending true crime podcast, now bring it to the screen. It's a bold pivot—translating an audio format into a visual narrative. Their solution? Blend sit-down interviews with cinematic reenactments, the kind that carry a pulse instead of feeling like filler.
Pegalo Pictures produced the film independently, and you can sense the freedom in the footage. No glossy polish, just grit. Cinematographers Andrew Aiello and Chris Jones shoot the reconstructions like a crime thriller, while composer Jasha Klebe's score ratchets tension.
Release details are clear: American Skyjacker will hit select U.S. theaters this October before dropping on Digital + VOD November 17, 2025.
Why This Story Hits Different
Most true crime docs lean on the “what if” of mystery. What if Cooper survived? What if the Zodiac is still alive? American Skyjacker isn't interested in the unsolved. It's about the brazen, messy reality of a man who lived to narrate his own myth.
And there's something perversely fascinating in that—McNally reflecting on his younger self, recounting love stories and shoot-outs like someone describing last week's poker game. Charming? Chilling? Both. The trailer makes you lean forward, even if you're uneasy about enjoying it.
5 Things You Should Know Before Watching American Skyjacker
McNally's heist was bigger than Cooper's. He demanded $500,000, more than double Cooper's ransom.
It's the podcast turned film. Pegalo Pictures first told this story in their hit podcast before adapting it for the screen.
Cinematic reenactments keep it alive. Expect thriller-style recreations that blur documentary and drama.
Release is set in stone. October 2025 in select U.S. theaters, then Digital + VOD on November 17, 2025.
It's about myth made flesh. Unlike Cooper's vanishing act, McNally's tale is told in his own words—making the documentary both testimony and confession.
Final Thoughts
The trailer for American Skyjacker isn't just nostalgia bait for true crime junkies—it's a window into an era where skyjackings were disturbingly ordinary. But what elevates it is McNally himself, alive and unrepentant, narrating the story with a strange mix of swagger and fatalism.
It leaves you unsettled, intrigued, maybe even entertained against your better judgment. Gorgeous. Grating. Gorgeous again.
What do you think—does American Skyjacker finally give us the true crime story that outshines D.B. Cooper's legend?
