Red Tails Trailer, Release Date Set
After decades of planning and years of delay, George Lucas’ Red Tails is set to open in January 2012. The SFX-heavy epic tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the WWII soldiers who became the first African-American military pilots in U.S. history.
Lucas has been the driving force behind the film and is credited as a writer. Through it all, he has eagerly sought black artists to tell the story.
Director Anthony Hemingway is a veteran of HBO’s Treme and The Wire, a.k.a. “one of the greatest television shows ever.” Screenwriter John Ridley’s experience is all over the map, from the artsy war film Three Kings to Undercover Brother. It will be interesting to see where this one falls.
The cast is balanced between award-winning actors and hip hop stars: Terrence Howard, Method Man, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Gooding could use a good career boost, and fortunately, he’s played military men before in Pearl Harbor, Men of Honor, and… The Tuskegee Airmen.
The trailer looks pretty awesome, with a lot of inspirational speeches over swelling music, and perhaps Lucas’ best aerial fight scenes since X-wings destroyed the Death Star.
Catch the video here.
