Awesome Comic-Inspired Movie Poster for George Lucas-Produced WWII Movie Red Tails
Posted 10.15.11 by BrentJS
Legendary filmmaker George Lucas has always had an eye for and an appreciation of artists. He hired the best designers and illustrators in Hollywood to help him bring the fantastical world of Star Wars to life and in the foreward to Titan Books' new book, Drew Struzan: Oeuvre, Lucas writes, "Although I have made filmmaking my career, I have never abandoned my love of art and images and those who create them."
It's no wonder then that Lucas chose one of the greatest comic book illustrators of all time, Joe Kubert, to create the latest, comic book-inspired poster for his years-in-the-making World War II combat movie Red Tails. The founder of The Kubert School, the 85-year-old artist rose to fame drawing the exploits of DC Comics' WWII hero Sgt. Rock, making him a perfect match for Red Tails, which tells the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII that was comprised of the first African American combat pilots to serve in the U.S. military.
Here's the official movie synopsis:
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.
Produced by Lucas, Red Tails was written by John Ridley (Undercover Brother) and Boondocks writer-artist Aaron Mcgruder, and was directed by Anthony Hemingway (HBO's Treme). The cast includes Bryan Cranston, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Ryan Early, Method Man, Lee Tergesen, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Andre Royo, Jesse Williams and Academy Award–winner Cuba Gooding Jr.
Here's a larger image for your viewing pleasure and you can check out an even larger image here. Hopefully "Die You Nazi Dog!" will actually make its way into the movie at some point.
Next Showing: Red Tails flies into theaters Jan. 20, 2012