THE first images from Brad Pitt’s new movie have been released — with rising Australian star Xavier Samuel staring down the Hollywood heavyweight.

Fury is set in the final month or so of WWII, with Pitt’s US Army sergeant Wardaddy commanding a tank on a mission behind enemy lines.

Samuel, who has appeared in the Twilight franchise as well as local films Drift, A Few Best Men and Healing, plays a young lieutenant who clashes with Wardaddy’s men. He told News Corp his character is fresh out of the academy.

“I’m very green to be in a position of authority dealing with older guys who have had much longer war experience, so it’s an interesting collision.”

Wardaddy’s crew is made up of Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Michael Pena (End of Watch), Logan Lerman (Noah) and Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead).

Writer-director David Ayer (End of Watch) told US magazine People that he “set out to make the ultimate tank movie”, putting his actors in a genuine WWII era German tank on loan from a museum.

Ayer said Pitt, 50, was playing a “badass, hard, tough, intense guy. It’s a different kind of role for him”.

Samuel is no stranger to big-name co-stars, having acted alongside the likes of Naomi Watts and Olivia Newton-John. But the Fury shoot in the UK was on another level.

“It’s a big film and to be suddenly standing across from Brad Pitt, someone I grew up watching and admiring for a long time — it was an amazing opportunity,” he said.

Fury opens in Australia on November 13.