Adepero Oduye, star of last year’s indie hit “Pariah” is set to join a star-studded cast in Steve McQueen‘s next pic “Twelve Years A Slave”.

With Michael Fassbender – who’s clearly a big McQueen fan having worked with the director on two critically-acclaimed hits (“Hunger” and “Shame”) – already on board as well as Hollywood heavyweight Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oduye will take on the female lead, rumoured to be Ejiofor’s wife.

The film is based on the true story of Soloman Northup, to be played by Ejiofor, a free-born son of a former slave who is lured to Washington DC where he was illegally sold into slavery and shipped to work for William Ford in New Orleans. When Northup is finally able to get a letter to his wife and family, they seek legal counsel to help free him. Oduye will presumably play his wife, while Fassbender will play a plantation owner and Brad Pitt will be the family’s lawyer.

It’s been a busy past year for Oduye, whose name could be found on any number of “next generation” type lists last year including Sundance Film Festival’s Fresh Faces to Watch; THR’s Next Generation Class of 2011 and Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue. She was also nominated for her first Indie Spirit award for her leading role in “Pariah”, Dee Rees’ tale of a Brooklyn teenager juggling conflicting identities and risking friendships and family in her search for sexual expression.