20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm have released a new poster for WWII-era action drama Red Tails, featuring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard. The film is inspired by the true story of a few African-American pilots in the Tuskegee training program who are called into active duty.
Here’s the official synopsis for Red Tails:
1944. World War II rages and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile the black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program are courageously waging two wars at once — one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home. Racial prejudices have long held ace airman Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker) and his black pilots back at base — leaving them with little to do but further hone their flying skills — while their white counterparts are shipped out to combat after a mere three months of training. Mistakenly deemed inferior and assigned only second-rate planes and missions, the pilots of Tuskegee have mastered the skies with ease but have not been granted the opportunity to truly spread their wings. Until now.
As the war in Europe continues to take its dire toll on Allied forces, Pentagon brass has no recourse but to reconsider these under-utilized pilots for combat duty. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) awards them the ultimate chance to prove their mettle high above. Undaunted by the prospect of providing safe escort to bombers in broad daylight — a mission so dangerous that the RAF has refused it and the white fighter groups have sustained substantial losses — Easy’s pilots at last join the fiery aerial fray. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in a heroic endeavor to combat the enemy — and the discrimination that has kept them down for so long.
Additional cast includes Bryan Cranston (AMC’s Breaking Bad), David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Help), Tristan Wilds (Half Nelson), Method Man (HBO’s The Wire), Ne-Yo (Battle: Los Angeles), Lee Tergesen (Shaft), Elijah Kelley (Hairspray), Andre Royo (Super, The Wire), and Jesse Williams (Brooklyn’s Finest).
Red Tails, written by John Ridley (Undercover Brother) and Boondocks writer-artist Aaron Mcgruder and directed by Anthony Hemingway (HBO’s Treme), hits theaters January 20th, 2012.
