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Spy missions. International politics. The threat of nuclear apocalypse.

Filmmakers have been making movies and television shows focused on these topics since the early days of the Cold War – and NATO has occasionally taken centre stage in the story.

Cinematic references to NATO have ranged from characters working to prevent a conspiracy aimed at dismantling the Alliance, to enemies stealing hard drives containing the identities of intelligence operatives. These portrayals not only highlight NATO’s military role but also often underscore broader themes of diplomacy, human security and the politics at the heart of the transatlantic Alliance. 

The following examples from movies and TV illustrate how NATO is portrayed on screen – with varying degrees of accuracy.

NATO in modern movies and TV

Heads of State (2025)

(Photo: Amazon Content Services)

Heads of State is an action comedy starring John Cena as the President of the United States and Idris Elba as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (who, of course, is the UK’s Head of Government, not its Head of State – that would be the King).

The plot involves the two leaders surviving a plane crash and teaming up with intelligence officers to thwart a conspiracy aimed at dismantling NATO, while facing a Russian arms dealer and internal betrayal.

Throughout the film, NATO is depicted as indispensable – the glue that binds the transatlantic “special relationship” together. Characters repeatedly stress the Alliance's significance for global peace and stability, and several plot points revolve around threats to NATO cohesion.

The Diplomat (2023-present)

(Photo: Netflix; Poster design by MOCEAN; photography by Jason Bell)

The Diplomat is an American political thriller series that follows Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), a career diplomat who must navigate international crises and personal challenges while serving as the United States’ Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

NATO is referenced many times throughout the series, whose main drama follows the reaction of the UK, US and other NATO Allies after a deadly attack on a UK warship. In season three, NATO is mentioned in several scenes in relation to US diplomatic manoeuvres and European security issues, including the threat posed by a Russian Poseidon nuclear-armed underwater vehicle.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

(Photo: Paramount Pictures; Poster design by Concept Arts)

Top Gun: Maverick references NATO in the mission briefing given to Maverick (Tom Cruise) at the start of the movie. The fictional unnamed enemy is described as a rogue state threatening the security of NATO Allies by building a nuclear enrichment facility near NATO's borders. The characters claim that the facility was built “in violation of a multilateral NATO treaty”. 

This phrasing is a bit unusual – although NATO facilitates many multilateral agreements, it has only one treaty: the North Atlantic Treaty that founded the Alliance in 1949. Nonetheless, this narrative framing situates the movie’s threat in a broader geopolitical context, and shows how one of the many objectives of the US Navy is to defend its NATO Allies.

Madam Secretary (2014-2019)

(Photo: CBS)

Madam Secretary is an American political drama series that follows Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni), a former CIA analyst who becomes US Secretary of State.

In the season three finale, "Article 5", the Secretary of State heads to NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium for an emergency meeting after Russia secretly moves troops into Bulgaria, attempting to disguise its forces as an internal revolutionary faction. The covert invasion of Bulgaria – a NATO Ally – prompts immediate discussions about invoking Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an attack against one member is considered an attack against all. When NATO presents a united front against Russia, it withdraws its troops.

Deutschland 83 (2014)

(Photo: RTL/2015)

This TV mini-series, directed by Academy Award Nominee Edward Berger, follows a young East German border guard who goes undercover as an aide to a West German general who sits on NATO’s Military Committee and is responsible for NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy.

The series is steeped with the Cold War anxieties felt by the Soviet bloc about “Able Archer”, an annual NATO nuclear training exercise whose 1983 edition was mistakenly interpreted by Moscow as an actual nuclear strike against the Warsaw Pact member countries.

While Deutschland 83 depicts a world on the brink of a nuclear apocalypse due to the faulty interpretation of Soviet intelligence, NATO Archives documents about Able Archer show that it was actually a routine exercise that yielded little reaction on either side of the East-West divide.

Sherlock (2010-2017)

(Photo: BBC)

Sherlock is a modern British adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson.

The series references NATO several times. In one instance, Sherlock Holmes is investigating a mysterious situation involving genetic experiments at the Baskerville facility. A young girl reports that her pet rabbit named Bluebell suddenly started to glow in the dark and then disappeared. "NATO's in uproar," says Sherlock sarcastically, implying that the case is hardly cause for an international crisis. 

Another quote worth mentioning occurs when Professor James Moriarty, Sherlock's arch nemesis, boasts about his ability to access confidential information. He states: "I OWN secrecy. Nuclear codes? I could blow up NATO in alphabetical order." Charming!

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

(Photo: BLT Communications)

In G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra , a weapons manufacturer has created a nanotech-based weapon that he sells to the fictional NATO Weapons Command. His nefarious plan is revealed shortly thereafter – to orchestrate the theft of his own weapons, casting doubt and causing division within NATO (leading, naturally, to world domination). 

This is one of the more far-fetched plots featuring the Alliance, since NATO does not purchase any weapons systems of its own, and the weapons of its member countries remain their sovereign responsibility. (NATO does help Allies procure weapons systems, and the Alliance owns and operates certain non-lethal capabilities, such as AWACS surveillance aircraft or the NATO Pipeline System).

The creator of the original G.I. Joe comic book character, Larry Hama, also has a cameo in the movie as a NATO general.

California Dreamin (2007)

(Photo: Media Pro Pictures; made by Marian Hangiarec)

Winner of the prestigious "Un Certain Regard" Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, California Dreamin’ by Romanian director Cristian Nemescus is based on a true story: in 1999, a NATO train transporting military equipment is stopped in the middle of nowhere by an overzealous chief of a Romanian train station. With humour and humanity, the film explores the impact that the arrival of the American soldiers guarding the train has on the small village community, with unlikely friendships forming between citizens of these two NATO Allies.

Mission Impossible (1996)

(Photo: Paramount Pictures)

Mission: Impossible is an American action spy film starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), who becomes a target of suspicion after a mission gone wrong in Prague results in the deaths of his team.

The movie explicitly mentions NATO while introducing the character Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), a disavowed IMF agent and computer expert who notoriously hacked “NATO Ghost Com” (a fictional, ultra-secure computer network).

Did you know?

The filmmakers of the post-apocalyptic zombie film 28 Years Later (2025) consulted NATO regarding the depiction of a soldier's uniform.

The movie imagines an alternate timeline in which Swedish forces operate in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland as part of a NATO stabilisation force, 28 years after the outbreak of the “Rage Virus” in the original movie 28 Days Later (2002). One of these troops is a Swedish soldier named Erik Sundqvist (Edvin Ryding), who wears a uniform with a distinctive NATO arm badge.

Evin Ryding in 28 Years Later (2025) (Photo by Terry Blackburn)

In the movie, NATO is depicted as a key military force enforcing the quarantine of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to contain the Rage Virus. This draws inspiration from the peacekeeping and crisis management roles that the Alliance has played following disasters as part of NATO’s operations and missions.

NATO in Marvel movies

NATO is referenced many times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and one show even includes a fictional NATO Secretary General.

Secret Invasion (2023)

(Photo: Marvel Studios)

Secret Invasion is a six-episode television miniseries focusing on Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his alien friend Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) uncovering a secret alien infiltration of Earth. The Skrulls are aliens that can perfectly impersonate other species, allowing them to gain control of a planet and secure resources for their species.

Among the impersonated figures in the series is the NATO Secretary General, who is kidnapped and replaced by a Skrull duplicate, alongside other NATO Leaders such as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Following a Skrull attack, the impersonated NATO Secretary General delivers a diplomatic response, as seen in the image above.

Later in the show, the Skrulls have a secret meeting regarding the bombing, where the imposter Secretary General boasts about his supposed power:

"I'm the commander of NATO. I can mobilise a million troops at the snap of a..."

While the Secretary General is the Alliance’s civilian head, the actual “commander of NATO” is the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), who is responsible for all NATO military operations.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

(Photo: Marvel Studios)

In the opening scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers fight and defeat a villain called Baron Strucker. The battle is crucial as it leads to the retrieval of Loki's Sceptre, which is essential for the creation of Ultron, an artificial intelligence meant for peace that turns against humanity and becomes the film’s main villain.

In the movie, Strucker and the surviving enemy soldiers are taken into NATO custody following this defeat, prompting this exchange between Captain America (Chris Evans) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders):

"What's the word on Strucker?"

"NATO's got him." 

(It is worth highlighting that NATO does not operate detention facilities or take custody of individuals.)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013)

(Photo: ABC)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a Marvel Studios television series focused on a team of operatives who handle unusual global threats. Over seven seasons, the show presents the covert operations of the agents as they navigate a world filled with super-powered beings and unpredictable enemies.

In the series, NATO is mentioned in the context of global security and military operations, particularly in episodes exploring large-scale threats. The Alliance is specifically mentioned in episodes 18 and 19 in the show’s first season.

Did you know?

While making  Lord of War (2005), a drama about an illegal arms dealer starring Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke, filmmakers had to inform NATO about the use of real T-72 tanks for an arms sale scene filmed in Czechia. Otherwise, NATO’s Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance system might have mistaken the scene for an actual arms build-up.

Nicolas Cage in Lord of War (2005) (Photo: Lions Gate Home Entertainment)

NATO and James Bond

Given the international espionage focus of the James Bond series – and the fact that it has produced dozens of films over more than 60 years – it’s not surprising that NATO has been referenced many times.

No Time to Die (2021)

(Photo: MGM)

No Time to Die features Daniel Craig in his fifth and final turn as James Bond. In the film, Bond is brought by the new 007 (played by Lashawna Lynch) to a “NATO airbase” in Norway, where he boards a C-17 Globemaster (similar to those used by NATO’s Strategic Airlift Capability) to pursue the film’s villain to his secret lair.

The Norwegian “NATO airbase” was actually filmed at Royal Air Force Station Brize Norton, the RAF’s largest air force base in the United Kingdom.

Spectre (2015)

(Photo: Sony Pictures)

While NATO is not directly mentioned or involved in this James Bond movie, Bond can be seen wearing a wristwatch with a NATO strap. This iconic fashion accessory has appeared in many James Bond films, including Thunderball (1965), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). Learn more here!

Skyfall (2012)

(photo: © 2012 - Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Skyfall stars Daniel Craig in his third outing as James Bond. In the film’s opening sequence, 007 pursues the mercenary Patrice – who has stolen a hard drive containing the identities of MI6 spies and other “NATO agents” – on an action-packed chase through Istanbul, including on the roof of the Grand Bazaar. (It’s worth noting that the “NATO agents” mentioned are presumably operatives from Allied national intelligence services. NATO does not employ its own undercover agents.)

GoldenEye (1995)

(Photo: EON Productions)

GoldenEye is the 17th film in the franchise, marking Pierce Brosnan's debut as 007. Its plot centres on stopping a rogue ex-MI6 agent from using an electromagnetic pulse satellite weapon codenamed “GoldenEye” to wreak havoc in London.

In the movie, a fighter helicopter is stolen by former Soviet fighter pilot Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) during a demonstration to NATO Allies on board a French warship. The stealth chopper is key to the movie’s plot, as it is resistant to radar detection and electromagnetic radiation, making it the perfect vehicle for someone who wants to steal and use the GoldenEye weapon.

The Living Daylights (1987)

(Photo: MGM)

The Living Daylights follows James Bond, portrayed by Timothy Dalton, as he assists a supposed defection of a Soviet general, Georgi Koskov.

The movie opens with a NATO training exercise on the Rock of Gibraltar, which is infiltrated by an assassin and turns deadly. James Bond pursues the assassin across the rocky terrain and along the Mediterranean cliffs in the opening sequence.

Thunderball (1965)

(Photo: MGM)

The fourth James Bond movie, Thunderball, escalated the spectacle and scale of the 007 series by giving Bond his hardest mission yet: preventing a nuclear apocalypse. In the film, NATO is blackmailed by the terrorist organisation SPECTRE, whose ambitious “NATO project” consists of stealing two nuclear bombs from a NATO training flight and threatening to destroy a major city unless a huge ransom is paid by the “North Atlantic Treaty powers”. The movie includes not only the famous British secret agent, but also a French Air Force pilot and his sister, and an American CIA operative. Needless to say, Bond saves the day with the help of his NATO Allies.

Never Say Never Again (1983)

(Photo: Warner Bros.)

Although technically not a remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never Again adapts the same Ian Fleming novel and covers essentially the same plot, with James Bond working to recover stolen nuclear warheads. As such, it also makes reference to NATO.

NATO in Cold War-era cinema

During the Cold War, a wide range of movies used the geopolitical tensions between the Western and Eastern Blocs as a source of drama – sensationalising the East-West divide, and often pitting their characters against each other in cat-and-mouse, spy vs. spy stories.

Several of these productions made explicit reference to NATO, widening the scope of their stories and raising the stakes of their espionage narratives with an international element.

Night Flight from Moscow (The Serpent) (1973)

(Photo: Films la Boétie)

The plot of Night Flight from Moscow (also known as The Serpent) follows high-ranking KGB officer Alexei Vlassov, who defects to the United States after travelling through France. During his debriefing by CIA officer Allan Davies and British intelligence representative Philip Boyle, Vlassov hands over a microfilm containing highly sensitive intelligence.

This includes a list of Soviet agents embedded in NATO, as well as in the intelligence services of France, West Germany and other Western Bloc countries.

By providing this information, Vlassov creates suspense around the authenticity of his defection: the CIA and other Allied intelligence services must determine whether he is genuinely defecting or executing a sophisticated KGB disinformation operation.

Night Flight from Moscow (The Serpent) (1973)

(Photo: Anatoliy Golitsyn seated at a table with a companion during a social gathering; Alchetron)

This film is loosely based on the Martel Affair,  a massive Cold War espionage scandal that occurred in early 1962. It centred on intelligence supplied by Anatoliy Golitsyn, a KGB major who defected to the United States in December 1961.

Golitsyn alleged that Soviet agents had infiltrated the French military intelligence service and were even present within the cabinet of President Charles de Gaulle, giving them access to any NATO document on demand. He also reported that NATO Headquarters in Paris was so deeply penetrated that top secret NATO documents were deliverable to Moscow within 48 hours.

Le Cerveau (1969)

(Photo: Gaumont, Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, Paramount Pictures)

Le Cerveau is a heist comedy that uses a real part of NATO history – the move of the NATO Headquarters from Paris to Brussels in 1967 – to set its plot in motion.

Le Cerveau revolves around two competing criminal teams. The first is a pair of bumbling French thieves, while the second is headed by “Le Cerveau”, a British mastermind with ties to the Mafia. They plan to execute the same heist: the robbery of a train holding the “secret funds” of 14 NATO countries as it travels from Paris to Brussels on 16 July 1967.

Both teams conduct espionage to gain information about the train, to the extent that “Le Cerveau” even goes undercover as a NATO colonel overseeing the transfer of the funds (stuffed in duffle bags identifiable by their country flags) at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris (sadly for real-life thieves, NATO did not actually ship any funds in giant bags of cash).

The movie is a French-Italian co-production shot on location in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. A sequence in the film where French characters explain NATO is even shot in front of the actual entrance of the former NATO Headquarters at Porte Dauphine in Paris.

Topaz (1969)

(Photo: Universal Pictures)

Topaz was Alfred Hitchcock’s late-career return to the espionage thriller, a genre that he helped shape and popularise in British and American cinema. The film is an adaptation of a 1967 novel written by Leon Uris, which (just like the movie "Night Flight from Moscow"), was also closely based on the Martel Affair, exposing a Soviet spy ring in France.

In the film, the mole leaking documents to the KGB (codenamed “Topaz”) is revealed to be a senior NATO economist with direct access to Allied intelligence sharing.

Topaz (1969)

(Photo: NATO)

In real life, the Martel Affair eventually resulted in the arrest of Georges Pâques, the Deputy Head of the NATO Press Service, who turned out to have been leaking information to the Soviet Union for nearly 20 years. Among the NATO documents that Pâques leaked were plans related to psychological warfare, force posture, military exercises and defence plans for Berlin. He also wrote extensive biographies of prominent officials at NATO and within Allied governments.

Click here to download the full story, as reported in the 25 April 1968 issue of LIFE Magazine.

Movies depicting NATO in a negative light

Although most movies produced in Allied countries portray NATO from a positive or neutral perspective, films produced in other countries (notably Russia) sometimes depict the Alliance as an aggressor or antagonist. These films often blend fact with fiction, setting stories in real historical contexts but also using dramatised or selective storytelling to support specific political arguments or narratives about international relations.

The Balkan Line (2019)

(Photo: De1an)

The Balkan Line is a Russian-Serbian action movie set around the end of the 1999 Kosovo conflict. The film follows a small detachment of Russian GRU agents tasked with seizing control of Pristina International Airport. While the film takes inspiration from a factual backdrop, it diverges substantially from real historical events. The movie was supported financially by state funds from the Russian Ministry of Culture.