Since his Best Picture win for 2013's 12 Years a Slave, director Steve McQueen has mostly stayed off the radar. The powerful filmmaker is making his way back into the spotlight with his upcoming thriller, Widows, starring none other than highly-acclaimed actress Viola Davis. Set for a November 16 release, Widows has Davis taking control of a situation that puts her and three other women in a corner, brought about by their dead husbands' criminal dealings. The movie is co-written and directed by McQueen, with Gone Girl best-selling writer Gillian Flynn sharing writing credits with him. Take a look at the second trailer -- it looks to be a truly show-stopping combination, with Davis' strength being matched with McQueen's and Flynn's skillful storytelling.
Viola Davis steals the show in this Widows trailer, but she certainly has an impressive ensemble next to her. Fast & the Furious' Michelle Rodriguez also stars, along with Elizabeth Debicki, who played Ayesha in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Cynthia Erivo, a Tony winner for The Color Purple and future star of an upcoming Harriet Tubman biopic. As these four woman grieve over the deaths of their husbands deaths, they are haunted by the two men they wronged before they were killed, Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry and Get Out's David Kaluuya.
The Widows trailer sets up the dramatic situation the women are placed in, with the two men invading the life of Davis' character Rebecca, popping in on the funeral of her husband, played by Liam Neeson, as she mourns his untimely death. It's revealed that the four husbands stole $2 million from them and were killed, with the money likely turned over to the police. Rebecca initially turns to a friend of her husband, played by Colin Farrell, with little luck. In desperation, she contacts the other three widows in hopes of carrying out their husbands' next robbery plans with their help. While the other women seem rightfully fearful to carry out Rebecca's plan, their tenacious words about finishing the job on their own and doing something about the torment of the criminals at their heels.
Widows is based on the 1983 British miniseries of the same name. Steve McQueen was was a fan of it as a teenager, motivating him to develop his own modern-day version. His film takes place in Chicago instead of the series' London roots, and has four women at its helm instead of three. Widows marks a considerable shift for McQueen, who has never developed a full-length film with such a large female cast at its forefront or opted for a crime-thriller. It will be exciting to see four badass women take their life into their own hands when Widows comes to theaters on November 16.
