‘Cymbeline’ Trailer: Shakespeare Gets Updated Again, This Time With a Biker Gang

Today brings the first trailer for 'Cymbeline,' yet another modernization of a William Shakespeare play -- though this one is lesser-known. And while we've certainly seen Shakespeare updated plenty of times, and we've seen Shakespeare done with Ethan Hawke and John Leguizamo, we've definitely never seen Shakespeare with a biker gang twist. So at least it has that going for it.

'Cymbeline' deals in common Shakespearean themes: tragedy and (secret) romance, betrayal, and revenge. This updated take focuses on a rivalry between dirty cops and a biker gang, and comes from writer and director Michael Almereyda, who previously directed Ethan Hawke in 2000's modern re-telling of 'Hamlet.'

The original 'Cymbeline' is -- obviously -- complicated, and revolves around King Cymbeline and his daughter Imogen, who marries Posthumus against her father's wishes that she marry the obnoxious son of the Queen. Posthumus' buddy Iachimo places a bet that he can seduce Imogen, and spends much of the play craftily trying to do so, and in frustration, even tries to have her murdered. There's also much ado about potions and poisons and plots, and in many ways, the story resembles 'Romeo and Juliet,' but with more imprisonment and war and even beheadings.

The trailer for 'Cymbeline' the movie doesn't seem to resemble the plot of the play in any noticeable ways at all, so it'll be interesting to see how Almereyda has modernized this story. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Milla Jovovich, Dakota Johnson, Anton Yelchin, Penn Badgley, Ed Harris, and John Leguizamo, and hits theaters on January 23, 2015.