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ESPN recruits filmmaker Peter Berg for new Monday Night Football open

Monday Night Football will have a brand new open this fall, and ESPN recruited one of Hollywood’s top filmmakers for the project.

Peter Berg, whose directing credits include The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights, the upcoming Lone Survivor and ESPN’s very first 30 for 30 documentary Kings Ransom, created the original storyboard concept and oversaw live-action filming.

The new timeline open – also known as the “ESPN Monday Night Football Launch Engineered by GMC” – chronicles the 44-year history of MNF by combining football moments from past Monday night games with images of touchstone cultural events of the past four-and-a-half decades.

“There really is a cultural significance,” said Berg. “MNF has been a steadying influence on all of our lives. . . . It’s a cultural reference point for all of us.”

The new open will debut before ESPN’s MNF regular-season opener – Philadelphia Eagles versus Washington Redskins (7 p.m. ET) – on Sept. 9.

In the video above, Berg discusses how he became involved in the MNF project and why he chose the timeline. He also shares his memories of watching MNF as a kid and what he hopes fans will take from this new approach.

The gallery below includes a sneak preview of images that will be part of ESPN’s new MNF open.

Video produced by Dave Williams and senior creative director Michael “Spike” Szykowny

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