Zero-Dark-Thirty-UK-PosterKathryn Bigelow will be entering the Oscar race in just under a month, with the release of Zero Dark Thirty already buzzing with awards anticipation.

Based on true events, we saw the first full-length trailer land last month, teasing us with enough to persuade us all it will be a strong contender, and after catching a new poster last week, the film’s official Facebook has debuted the first TV spot.

“The upcoming true-life drama “Zero Dark Thirty” details the decade-long global hunt for Osama bin Laden, and in this exclusive in-theater banner, you get a satellite view of his secret compound in Pakistan. Two Black Hawk helicopters are seen approaching the fortified compound in the moments before Navy SEALs carried out the raid that lead to bin Laden’s death. The movie from the Oscar-winning writer and director of “The Hurt Locker,” will hit theaters on December 19.”

The film boasts one of the finest casts of the year, headed up by Mark Strong, Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, James Gandolfini, Scott Adkins, Jennifer Ehle, Chris Pratt, Édgar Ramirez, Frank Grillo, Nash Edgerton, and Mark Duplass, with Ricky Sekhon taking the role of bin Laden himself.

Bigelow is once more directing from a script by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), with the two producing alongside the brilliant Megan Ellison (True Grit, The Master, Lawless).

Zero Dark Thirty will be given a limited release in the US on 19th December, before opening wide on 11th January. Here in the UK, the film will reach our shores on 25th January, and it looks like it’s going to be well worth the wait. For now, here’s the first TV spot to help tie you over. Enjoy.

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