Outlaws Trailer: Matt Nable & Ryan Corr Are Dueling Biker Presidents

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The Outlaws trailer pits Ryan Corr against Matt Nable in a battle to lead their motorcycle gang. Nable, who also wrote the film, is probably best known here in the States for playing Ra's al Ghul on The CW's Arrow TV show. He's also far from a stranger to pulpy genre films like Outlaws, having starred opposite Jason Statham and Vin Diesel in the R-rated thrillers Killer Elite and Riddick, respectively. This isn't his first rodeo as a screenwriter either, as he previously wrote the 2007 sports drama The Final Winter.

Also known as 1%, Outlaws stars Nable as Knuck, the leader of an Australian motorcycle gang who's fresh off a three-year stint in prison. However, when he gets out, his finds his former deputy-turned replacement president Paddo (Corr) is about to give control of their highly-profitable drug trade to a rival gang. When things go south, the gang must not only battle their enemies but - as the trailer illustrates - "contend with external threats and subversion within their own ranks - culminating in a deadly face-off between the heavily-armed crews".

You can watch A24 and DIRECTV's Outlaws trailer (which we're premiering exclusively) in the space below. The movie's cast also includes Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road), Simone Kessell (The Crossing), and Aaron Pederson (A Place to Call Home) in supporting roles.

Outlaws marks the non-TV feature directorial debut for Stephen McCallum, who previously worked alongside Nable (as a second unit director) back on the TV mini-series Gallipoli. McCallum has issued an official statement about the film, which includes the following bit about how he went about bringing the movie's grungy biker underworld to visceral life:

I’ve always been fascinated by the world of outlaws bikers. It’s a dangerous, mysterious brotherhood whose tribal hierarchy and values hark back to a more primal time. I wanted to be bold with the imagining of this dangerous world but balance it by grounding the aesthetic and performance in truth by utilising an uncompromising, cinematic documentary approach.

The crew created a 360 degree set which gave our actors the freedom to block within the scene and to allow their instinctive choices to inform the aesthetic. This grounded all the blocking in reality rather than being too prescribed or contrived. We allowed the camera to respond to the drama like it was another character in the scene. This performance-first approach was crucial in giving an energy and vitality to the scenes on the day.

The movie premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and has since go on to screen at events like Fantastic Fest 2017, as well as the 2018 Sydney Film Festival. While the initial critical reception has been mixed overall (it's now at 44% after 16 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes), Outlaws has also been praised for its ambitious approach to its genre and Shakespearean storytelling elements. Those who could use some biker drama in their lives now that Sons of Anarchy is done (and its spinoff, Mayans MC, is on-break between seasons) might want to give this one a look next year, judging by the trailer and early word of mouth.

Outlaws becomes available exclusively on DIRECTV on January 3, 2019. It begins playing in select U.S. theaters a month later on February 1.