He went on to direct the critically acclaimed films Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), Midnight Special (2016), Loving (2016), and The Bikeriders (2023).

Six of Nichols' films have featured Shannon: Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special, Loving and The Bikeriders.

"[8] Later, it was revealed that the script Nichols wrote for Alien Nation would be retooled into an original film and produced by Paramount Pictures.

[6] In 2018 he directed the short film, Long Way Back Home, inspired by a song of the same name that was written by his brother Ben and released by the country punk band, Lucero.

It stars Michael Shannon, who searches the streets and backroads of Memphis for his two younger brothers, played by Garrett Hedlund and Scoot McNairy.

[9] In 2020, it was reported that Nichols would be writing and directing Yankee Comandante, adapted from David Grann's article in The New Yorker about Che Guevara and William Alexander Morgan.

[14] In August 2022, it was announced that Nichols would be directing The Bikeriders, a film inspired by the Danny Lyon book of the same name.

The ensemble cast features Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman, Happy Anderson, and Mike Faist.