Michael B. Jordan fights to save Jamie Foxx’s life in the criminal justice drama Just Mercy.
Based on the bestselling memoir by attorney and social-justice activist Bryan Stevenson, the film follows the true story of Stevenson’s (Jordan) efforts to save Walter McMillian (Foxx), an African-American man sentenced to death in Alabama for a 1987 murder, despite evidence proving his innocence.
The trailer for the Warner Bros. film begins with Stevenson visiting McMillian in prison.
“The first time I visited death row, I wasn’t expecting to meet somebody the same age as me,” the Harvard-educated attorney says.
Related Story: Michael B. Jordan Hopes to ‘Change Minds’ With the Film ‘Just Mercy’
McMillian is skeptical after being let down by other lawyers and initially declines Stevenson’s help.
“You don’t know what you’re into down here in Alabama, where you’re guilty from the moment you’re born,” McMillian tells the young lawyer.
Stevenson remains determined to help inmates who may have been wrongly condemned and opens a center to assist prisoners on death row with the help of a local activist played by Brie Larson.
O’Shea Jackson Jr., Rob Morgan, Rafe Spall, Karan Kendrick and Tim Blake Nelson round out the main cast.
Destin Daniel Cretton directs and co-wrote the script with Andrew Lanham, based on Stevensons’ book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.
The film is produced by two-time Oscar nominee Gil Netter, Asher Goldstein and Michael B. Jordan. Bryan Stevenson, Mike Drake, Niija Kuykendall, Gabriel Hammond, Daniel Hammond, Scott Budnick, Jeff Skoll and Charles D. King serve as executive producers.
Just Mercy will get a limited release in select theaters on Dec. 25, and expand nationwide Jan. 10.
Watch the trailer below: