Coen Brothers retool TV series Ballad of Buster Scruggs as Netflix film Oscar contender starring Tom Waits

The project was originally announced as a six-part miniseries

(Netflix)

The previously announced TV series from directing duo the Coen Brothers has been retooled as a brand new film.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was originally set to be a six-part miniseries scheduled to debut on Netflix but, according to Variety, it'll now be premiered as a 132-minute film at the Venice Film Festival in August.

It will proceed to hit cinemas before landing on Netflix in time for next year's Oscars race which is expected to feature the likes of First Man, Widows and Barry Jenkins' Moonlight follow-up If Beale Street Could Talk.

Plot details are sparse but The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - which stars Tim Blake Nelson in the lead role - will keep the original series' anthology format by telling “six distinct tales about the American frontier.”

Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and musician Tom Waits - whose big-screen credits include Down By Law and Seven Psychopaths - will also star.

The Coen Brothers' most recent film, Hail Ceasar!, was released in 2016.