With a firmed up title, we’re now starting to get more peeks at Lawless, the new film by John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition). Previously going under The Wettest County in the World, the film stars Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke as the three Bondurant brothers and today we’ve got our first look at all of them together via @WettestCounty (maybe they should get around to changing that handle).

Based on Matt Bondurant‘s book — which is at least grounded in real events — Lawless follows the trio as they produce and run bootleg whiskey out of Franklin County in Prohibition-era Virginia, one of the most whiskey-rich counties in the country. Not only do they have to protect their business from the Alcohol Tax Unit, but also thieves, cops, and attempts at exploitation from county officials. And what better way to protect an enterprise than through violence?

Also starring Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Gary Oldman, their co-star Guy Pearce opened up a bit to Movieline about the film, saying he has a “strange quality” to his character, who is hunting down the brothers. He also said LaBeouf is “really extraordinary in the film and Tom [Hardy] just has a real Marlon Brando-like quality about him.” He also remarked on Shia’s love story with Wasikowska, saying it “is just so, so beautiful. He’s like a puppy dog around her, it’s fantastic.” A co-star flinging praise around to his colleagues is nothing new, but it’s nice to get a glimpse of what characteristics Hardy will have and that the romance angle is seemingly strong. Check out that photo below as we wait for more.

Lawless is expected to premiere at Cannes and will hit theaters on August 31st, 2012, right after Hardy explodes in The Dark Knight Rises, of course.