As well as producing the film through his production company Plan B, Brad Pitt has signed on to also play a role in Twelve Years a Slave alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender, reports Empire.
Based on the book of the same name originally published in 1853 by Solomon Northrup, Twelve Years a Slave tells the story of how Northrop was kidnapped and spent 12 years as a slave in Louisiana.
Steve McQueen will direct the project which begins shooting in 2012.
Pitt is currently filming World War Z, which is scheduled for release on December 21, 2012.
In the meantime, he lends his voice to the animated film Happy Feet Two, which opens on November 18, and is awaiting a release date for thriller Cogan’s Trade expected sometime next year.