Although Terrence Howard may have gotten bounced (or he did the bouncing, depending on whom you ask) from Iron Man, he apparently liked his time in the Air Force, because he’s just re-enlisted to be one of the Tuskegee Airmen in George Lucas’ upcoming Red Tails. Joining him also will be Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Bryan Cranston. Variety has it that the trio have been added to the cast, which already includes Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Method Man, Lee Tergesen, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Andre Royo and Jesse Williams. Anthony Hemingway is already on board to direct, John Ridley has scripted, Rick McCallum and Chas. Floyd Johnson producing and Lucas sitting in the exec producer God spot.
The film revolves around the young pilots who overcame institutional
racism in the military to form the Tuskegee Airmen, who become the
first African-American fighter pilots in U.S. military history. Their
planes featured the red-painted tails that give the film its title. Lucas has had this on the back burner since sometime around the time the real Tuskegee guys were icing Krauts. It’s finally coming together in between his revisiting properties that garner really bad thoughts from thirtysomethings for alleged childhood ravaging. Hopefully though, a property this historic and important will get better treatment theatrically than another recent Black WWII story, Spike Lee’s 2008 Miracle at St. Anna.
Funnily enough, Gooding has already been in a Tuskegee Airmen film, the 1995 TV movie starring Laurence Fishburne. Of course, then he went on to do Rat Race, Boat Trip, Snow Dogs, Daddy Day Camp and other, um…films. So this could be coming full circle for him…before he goes back out to make other, um…films. Cranston, meanwhile, is currently appearing on Breaking Bad and of course had his seven-year run on Malcolm in the Middle. And Terrence Howard is pointing fingers at a bunch of comic book guys. Red Tails is set to start production sometime soon in Europe.