British actor David Oyelowo plays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Ava DuVernay’s take on the Civil Rights leader, and the first trailer for Selma has already seen some suggest this could be a serious Oscar contender.
The impressive cast includes Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Dylan Baker as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Tom Roth as Alabama Gov. George Wallace. Common, Wendell Pierce, Cuba Gooding Jr., Oprah Winfrey, and Carmen Ejogo (who plays King’s future wife Coretta Scott) also star in the movie.
Set over a three month period, Selma focuses on the fight for equal voting rights which would culminate with the dangerous and epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
The film doesn’t appear to be holding back in terms of showing the brutality of the racists who targeted those on this march and makes it clear just how much danger those who took part in it were in.
Selma is set to be released in the US early next year and should reach the UK shortly after. As well as the trailer, we also have the first poster for the movie along with the enraging voter eligibility test of the time.
Selma hits UK cinemas 6th February 2015.
