Fassbender Joins 12 Years A Slave

Clearly looking to live up to their Scorsese/De Niro-level partnership, Hunger/Shame director Steve McQueen and regular star Michael Fassbender are re-teaming for a third time, as the actor has joined 12 Years a Slave.

Co-written by McQueen and John Ridley, Slave will tell the true story of New Yorker Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who was kidnapped from Washington’s streets in 1841 and shipped off to become a forced labourer. He was eventually rescued from a cotton plantation in Louisiana in 1853.

There’s no word yet on exactly who Fassbender will be playing, though we expect great – and, given the pair’s usual subject matter – controversial things.

Shame, with its searing look at sex addition, has been nabbing strong buzz at various festivals, not least because of brutal performances by Fassbender and Carey Mulligan. It’s playing the London Film Festival this month and will hit general screens on January 13.

Fassbender also has A Dangerous Method waiting for release and most recently shot a role on Ridley Scott’s Prometheus.

McQueen’s next doesn’t have a schedule set in stone just yet as it’s still locking down the financing, but it’s expected to kick off early next year.