First Look At Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave

Today we get our first look at Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave. Based on a true story, the film is said to be more brutal than his previous two efforts, Shame and Hunger. Considering that both of those, while excellent, were extremely tough watches, I cannot even imagine what McQueen has in store for us with his upcoming flick.

A slave drama set in the deep south, those who have seen it describe the film as “Django Unchained without the comedy.” It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, “a free man tricked, captured and sold into slavery in the film based off of Northup’s autobiography.” Supporting Ejiofor are Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt and Paul Giamatti, among others. Quite the cast, eh?

Thanks to USA Today, we now have our first look at the film. In the photos seen below we catch a glimpse of many of the main stars, though we’re most intrigued by Fassbender, who is set to play a menacing slave owner. It will be interesting to see how his character compares to Leonardo DiCaprio’s character from Django Unchained.

Even without these new photos, my excitement for this one was through the roof. Like I said above, McQueen’s previous flicks, which also starred Fassbender, were both terrific. Both Shame and Hunger were extremely powerful, tough to watch, but completely engaging films and I don’t think we should expect anything different from his latest effort. I think we’re in for another excellent collaboration between McQueen and Fassbender.

12 Years A Slave releases on December 27th, 2013, just in time to pick up what is sure to be some heavy awards buzz. Check out the new photos below and let us know what you think. Also, be sure to check back later this week as a trailer will release sometime within the next few days.