VIDEO: James Franco Sizes Up a Bank and Liam Neeson Puts on a Show in 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' Trailer

The Coen brothers tackle the frontier once again in the new trailer for Netflix’s “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” the legendary “True Grit” and “No Country for Old Men” directors’ upcoming Western anthology.

Originally conceived as a six-part TV series, the star-studded film features the likes of Stern Show regular James Franco, Liam Neeson (“Commuter”), Tom Waits (“Seven Psychopaths”), Brendan Gleeson (“Edge of Tomorrow”), and Tim Blake Nelson (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), the latter of whom plays the eccentric titular gunslinger Buster Scruggs.

The trailer (above) begins with Cowboy (Franco) sizing up a bank to rob. One thing leads to another and he’s captured by the law and offering up some literal gallows humor for his fellow outlaws. Neeson, meanwhile, stars as a showman named the Impresario in a gothic tale about two traveling performers.

Playing a wise-cracking outlaw in a Coen brothers film might be a bit out there for some actors, but “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is merely one of several unconventional roles Franco has embraced as of late. In the past year, the actor also portrayed a post-apocalyptic warlord in “Future World,” twin brothers caught up in the 1970s New York porn industry on HBO’s “The Deuce,” and quirky director Tommy Wiseau in James’ Oscar-nominated film “The Disaster Artist.” The actor and filmmaker memorably brought Tommy by the Stern Show last December to give listeners a glimpse of what the man behind the myth is really like. Check out their full sit-down with Howard here.