Did you know that George Lucas has more up his sleeve than Indiana Jones and Star Wars? Probably. But not if you’re judging based off what Lucasfilms has released over the last 20 years or so. As it stands, he actually has had this movie completed for a while but decided he wanted to personall ruin oversee some re-shoots for the film to help fix the “tone”. Either way, the director the flick, Anthony Hemingway, tweeted the following:

Source: Collider

Red Tails hits screens January 2012

For those not in the loop as to what this whole ‘Red Tails’ stuff is all about, here’s the 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.

I’d be a bit more confident with this release window if it had been stated by Lucas himself, as the film completed principle photography about two years ago. Either way, I am genuinely curious to find out what movie endeavors Lucas is willing to promote that’s new to movie audiences that isn’t named Star Wars, especially after I learned the… err… interesting line up of talent he’s chosen to cast in the iconic roles.

Red Tails stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Method Man, Ne-Yo and Bryan Cranston.

Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding are usually reliable for strong performances but… musicians and acting… Let’s just hope for the best, ok?

Edit: Added Synopsis