The Weinstein Company has released a new image of Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.  The film takes place in the antebellum South, and centers Django (Jamie Foxx), a freed slave who goes to find his wife (Kerry Washington) by teaming up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz).  Their search leads them to "Candieland", the plantation of the cruel and vicious Calvin Candie (DiCaprio).  Judging by the trailers we've seen so far, this role looks like a major departure for DiCaprio in that the actor looks like he's actually having fun with the role.Hit the jump to check out the image.  Django Unchained opens December 25th. [Update: As the image wasn't approved for release, we've been asked by the studio to take the image down.] Official synopsis:

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz).  Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty.  The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive.

Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways.  Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side.  Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago.

Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation.  Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave.  Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them.  If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival…

Written and directed by Academy Award®-winner Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED is produced by Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone.  The executive producers are Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Michael Shamberg, Shannon McIntosh, and James Skotchdopole.  DJANGO UNCHAINED will be released in the U.S. by The Weinstein Company on December 25, 2012, and internationally by Sony Pictures.