In director Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Django Unchained , takes place in the pre-Civil War South. Jamie Foxx plays “Shaft,” a man who’s slave status is getting in the way of his search for his wife who’s been sold away. The role of his wife will be played by Kerry Washington. The film is set to be released on Christmas Day of this year. Two early pictures from the film have already been released. Entertainment Weekly reports:

The song “Unchain My Heart” meant something very different when Jamie Foxx re-created it in 2004’s Ray, but you could argue the title applies in a strange and more sinister way in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming revenge western Django Unchained.

The bond Foxx wants to break this time around is not a bad romance, but something far uglier and more painful: his slave status in the pre-Civil War South, which is the obstacle preventing him from going in search of his sold-off wife, played by Kerry Washington.

After the jump, Entertainment Weekly debuts the first two photos from the movie, which hits theaters on Dec. 25, and we also talk with Foxx about this southern-fried take on the spaghetti western.

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