LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard will star in Lucasfilm's upcoming World War II saga "Red Tails," a drama is based on the Tuskegee Airmen.

The first American group of black military pilots and crew dealt with racial prejudice along with the pressures of war. Nearly 200 members attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The airmen went on more than 15,000 combat trips throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa.

"Star Wars" creator George Lucas is executive producer and has a story credit on the film, which is written by John Ridley. It's directed by Anthony Hemingway, whose credits include episodes of "The Wire" and "Battlestar Galactica."

Gooding's credits include "Pearl Harbor," ''Jerry Maguire" and a TV movie called "The Tuskegee Airmen." Howard's films include "Hustle & Flow" and "Crash."

Shooting gets under way soon in Europe.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.