Widows Trailer Defies All Expectations

The first trailer for Steve McQueen's Widows has hit the internet, and it's already got us thinking this might be the best (or at least, most surprising) movie of the year. Check it out.

We've known for a year now that McQueen was putting together an insanely stacked cast for this project, but actually seeing them in action together is the sort of thing that could make even the most dispassionate cinema-goer feel a little giddy. 

Between Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson, there's a little something for everybody in the mix  — and those are just the household names. 

Rounding out the cast of Widows, we've also got Get Out lead Daniel Kaluuya, Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry, character actor Garret Dillahunt, The Punisher's Jon Bernthal, Avengers: Infinity War's Carrie Coon, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's Elizabeth Debicki, The Mummy's Kevin J. O'Connor, Silver Linings Playbook's Jacki Weaver, Inception's Lukas Haas, and Cynthia Erivo of the upcoming Chaos Walking. 

The story, insofar as the trailer shows us, revolves around four women married to career criminals, all of whom become widowed after their boys go through a particularly bad day at the office. 

With their husbands' debts now on their heads and their families on the line, the foursome take control of their own fates, and summarily break bad. From visceral police chases to a daring home invasion, everything in this trailer feels dangerous and real. With McQueen's award-winning direction infusing every shot with a sense of stark realism, you're gonna wanna show this one to a friend.

The real standout in this murderers' row, though, has got to be Academy Award-winner Viola Davis, playing against type in the lead role and completely selling it. This may end up being just a pulp caper flick, but it's pulp as done by experts, performed by actors we don't often get to see do this kind of thing. As the trailer shows, that makes a big difference.

The script for Widows was written by both McQueen and Gillian Flynn, the novelist who wrote Gone Girl and adapted the screenplay for film. 

Widows will be out in theaters on November 16. It is expected to go on to win all of the Oscars the following February.