2026 has been a relatively quiet year for Matthew McConaughey, but 2025 was anything but quiet for the Oscar-winning star. McConaughey made his long-awaited return to leading-role acting with The Lost Bus, the Apple TV original thriller written and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film marked the first time McConaughey starred in a leading role in a movie in over five years — his last big role before his hiatus came in 2019’s The Gentlemen from director Guy Ritchie. McConaughey has also been tapped to star in a few big projects coming down the pipe, such as Brothers, a new Apple TV drama series set to be released either later this year or early next year. The show co-stars Woody Harrelson, so it will deliver the True Detective reunion that fans have been waiting years to see.
One of the more intriguing projects McConaughey has had in development for a while now is The Rivals of Amziah King, which wrapped production all the way back at the beginning of 2023. The film even premiered last year in March at SXSW, earning praise from critics on its way to scoring a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes from 31 reviews — some critics are even going as far as to say it could be McConaughey’s best movie. The Rivals of Amziah King has been stuck in distribution limbo for the last year, but this afternoon, Black Bear finally unleashed the first trailer for the film, confirming that it will be released worldwide on August 14. In addition to McConaughey, The Rivals of Amziah King stars Kurt Russell (The Madison), Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: Far From Home), and Owen Teague (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes).
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
Black Bear has released an official synopsis for The Rivals of Amziah King, along with the premiere of the first trailer. It reads as follows:
“Set within the deep backwoods of rural Oklahoma, the film follows the charismatic and musically gifted Amaziah King (McConaughey) who herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. When Amaziah’s estranged foster daughter unexpectedly returns, he leaps at the possibility to renew connection and create a family business. But the honey game is ruthless, and Amaziah’s rivals threaten to destroy everything he has built.”
James Montague and Andrew Patterson wrote the script for The Rivals of Amziah King and Patterson also directed the film. It will be Patterson’s second directorial feature following his work on 2019’s The Vast of Night (starring Sierra McCormick).
Check out the new trailer for The Rivals of Amziah King above and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the film.
The Rivals of Amziah King ](/tag/movie/the-rivals-of-amziah-king/)
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Andrew Patterson
Andrew Patterson
David Heyman, Jeffrey Clifford, Teddy Schwarzman, John Friedberg, Will Greenfield, Michael Heimler