'The Gentlemen' Trailer: Guy Ritchie Returns To His Crime Thriller Roots

Despite what its title implies, The Gentlemen is not afraid to get a little dirty. The poster for the Guy Ritchie crime comedy seems to suggest some sort of riff on Kingsman or even the director's sleek 2015 spy thriller The Man from U.N.C.L.E. But with the release of its first trailer, The Gentlemen may in fact be a bit of an ironic title.

Originally named Toff Guys, The Gentlemen is more of a throwback to Ritchie's grimy crime capers like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Matthew McConaughey leads an all-star cast in The Gentlemen as a notorious American drug lord who finds himself embroiled in a London territory war. Watch The Gentlemen trailer below.

Now that he's got his paycheck from helming this year's Aladdin live-action remake, Guy Ritchie is taking the chance to go back to his roots. The Gentlemen is all smart-talking British gangsters — including Hugh Grant in a particularly outrageous accent — and deadly deeds gone wrong.

The film follows American expat Mickey Pearson (McConaughey), who has built a successful marijuana empire in London. But when his rivals learn that he's looking to cash out and get out of the business, it explodes into all-out war, led by a greedy young upstart played by Henry Golding, who looks like he's having the time of his life. Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, and Eddie Marsan also star in The Gentlemen. It's an impressive international cast that Ritchie told Entertainment Weekly was the central conceit of this film.

"What I wanted was British aristocracy, New World American drive, and all of the fun to be had with bringing those two worlds together," Ritchie said. "Marijuana's kind of fun, but nevertheless serious and there's money involved."

Here is the synopsis for The Gentlemen:

From writer/director Guy Ritchie comes THE GENTLEMEN, a star-studded sophisticated action comedy. THE GENTLEMEN follows American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) who built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he's looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him (featuring an all-star ensemble cast including Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant).

The Gentlemen premieres in theaters on January 24, 2020.