Roland Emmerich's upcoming film "Midway" may not have aliens like "Independence Day," but it's just as harrowing and world-changing — and it's all based on a true story.

The first teaser trailer for the movie takes us to 1942, the Battle of Midway, which turned the tide for U.S. in the Pacific Theater. It also chronicles the dramatic six months that led up to it, following Japan’s infamous attack on Pearl Harbor.

The star-studded cast includes Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Mandy Moore, Nick Jonas, and Luke Evans, as well as Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, and Aaron Eckhart.

As Emmerich told USA Today, the movie "an America that’s not the superpower, a country that just came out of a big recession and tried to stay out of a war but got sucked into it. It was a simpler time, but it also was a time where you had to put your life in danger for ideals.”

"Midway" opens in theaters November 8.