The first images from Steve McQueen’s period drama Twelve Years a Slave featuring Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, & Sarah Paulson have been released. The story centers on Solomon Northup, a free man tricked, captured and sold into slavery in the deep south. The film is based on Northup’s own autobiography and chronicles his years in slavery under the watch of cruel planter Edwin Epps (Fassbender).

Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Quvenzhane Wallis, Paul Dano, Scoot McNairy, Garrett Dillahunt, Alfre Woodard, Dwight Henry, and Michael K. Williams also star. Twelve Years a Slave opens on December 27th.

via USA Today