Two more The Free State of Jones images have landed online. Written and directed by four-time Oscar-nominee Gary Ross (The Hunger Games), the Civil War movie is based on the true story of Newt Knight (Matthew McConaughey), a Southern farmer who led a rebellion against the Confederacy during the Civil War. It’s a fascinating story that stretches into his marriage with a former slave (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the establishment of a mixed-raced community in the South, and Knight’s continued efforts through Reconstruction.

While I’m definitely excited to see how Ross will follow up The Hunger Games and this is a fascinating story, I hope it doesn’t fall into the “White Savior” trap.

Check out The Free State of Jones images below. The film opens March 11, 2016 and also stars Keri Russell and Mahershala Ali.

 

Here’s the official synopsis for The Free State of Jones:

Written and directed by four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit, Pleasantville), and starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, The Free State of Jones is an epic action-drama set during the Civil War, and tells the story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy.

 

Banding together with other small farmers and with the assistance of local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones.

 

His marriage to a former slave, Rachel, and his subsequent establishment of a mixed race community was unique in the post-war South.

 

Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.