Matthew McConaughey is headed to war, the Civil War to be exact. The Oscar-winner will star in this summer's Free State of Jones, a true story based on Newton Knight, a confederate soldier and farmer who deserted the Confederacy and attempted to start his own state, one where race was no longer an issue. The first trailer for the film has been released and it looks like director Gary Ross is balancing Knight's personal story with the big screen action audiences expect from a summer blockbuster.
McConaughey recently spoke with EW about what drew him to the role of Knight...
“It’s a story about America and its relation with the individual and freedom. The period of Reconstruction following the Civil War is still under construction today. Why we were divided by race instead of being united by class didn’t make sense to Newt Knight back then, and it wouldn’t make sense to him today.”
