VIDEO: James Franco’s a Vengeful Villain Hunting for Brothers Carrying a Strange and Dangerous Weapon in ‘Kin’

A young man named Eli finds a strange and powerful weapon which could help his brother out of a James Franco-induced jam in “Kin,” a sci-fi-infused crime thriller hitting theaters in August.

The film’s official trailer (above) begins as Eli (Myles Truitt) stumbles across the corpse of an otherworldly soldier outfitted with a red-glowing rifle. Later, after a vengeful criminal (Franco) threatens to hurt his adopted older brother (Jack Reynor), Eli uses the mysterious weapon to defend them both. The weapon proves to be quite powerful but before long, Eli and his brother are on the run from both Franco and a gang of soldiers looking to reclaim their mighty gun.

“Kin” isn’t Franco’s only upcoming movie in which he plays a menacing villain. In May’s dystopian “Future World,” which he also directed, James plays a character named the Warlord who kidnaps a lifelike lady robot. “Future World” marks the recent Stern Show guest’s first directorial effort since last year’s Oscar-nominated Tommy Wiseau biopic “The Disaster Artist.” When James visited the Stern Show last December ahead of the film’s release he brought Tommy in with him and the two had a fascinating conversation with Howard. Take a listen (below).

“Kin” is directed by brothers Josh and Jonathan Baker and produced by Shawn Levy of “Stranger Things” fame. The film, co-starring Zoë Kravitz, Dennis Quaid, and Carrie Coon, blasts its way into theaters Aug. 31. Watch the trailer (above).