‘Free State Of Jones’ Trailer: Matthew McConaughey Leads The Knight Company Against The Confederacy
It’s been four years since directorGary Rosshelped launchThe Hunger Gamesfranchise. Ross, who was concerned he wouldn’t have enough time to make the sequels, stepped away from the series, leaving the other installments in the hands of directorFrancis Lawrence. Perhaps using his clout from the success of the first film, theSeabiscuitandPleasantvilledirector’s follow-up toThe Hunger Gamesis a fairly large-scale period drama set during the Civil War.
Free State of JonesstarsMatthew McConaughey(Dallas Buyers Club),Gugu Mbatha-Raw(Beyond the Lights),Keri Russell(The Americans), andMahershala Ali(The Hunger Gamesfranchise). Below, watch the newFree State of Jonestrailer.
McConaughey plays Newton Knight, a Southern farmer who fought the Confederacy in an attempt to turn Jones County, Mississippi into a free state. During the height of the Civil War, the soldier–who reluctantly enlisted in the Confederate Army–led the Knight Company, a group of 125 deserters that drove the Confederate government out of Jones County.
Here’s the newFree State of Jonestrailer:
This trailer is a significant improvement overthe first glimpse we gotofFree State of Jones, which was almost three minutes long and an uneven mix of action and drama; it was overcrowded and far too busy. This considerably shorter preview is a leaner and more focused look at the film, taking only a minute to communicate what the first trailer took three minutes to establish.
Here’s the official synopsis for the film:
Written and directed by four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross (THE HUNGER GAMES, SEABISCUIT, PLEASANTVILLE), and starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey. 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 local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones.
Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.
