"The Bikeriders" premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023 and was originally set to be released on December 1, 2023, but was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike and 20th Century Studios taking it off their release calendar.
As New Regacy started looking for a new home, it wasn’t long before Focus Features swooped in to save the day. They announced that "The Bikeriders" will officially premiere in theaters on June 21, 2024, eventually becoming available on the Peacock streaming service.
What’s It All About?
Ahh...the age-old story of boy loves girl, boy also loves local-motorcycle-club-turned-menacing-gang.
"I liked this idea that you build this love triangle — not two men chasing after the same woman, but a man and a woman chasing after the same young man," says writer/director Jeff Nichols ("Mud," "Loving," "Midnight Special"), who has been dreaming of doing this project for quite a while.
"The Bikeriders" is a fictional story inspired by Danny Lyon’s 1967 book of photography of the same name that follows the rise of the Vandals MC, a Midwestern motorcycle club. The story is told from the point of view of Kathy, who married a wild, handsome biker named Benny who took her breath away when she spotted him leaning over a pool table at a biker bar. The story follows her recounting the evolution of the group.
Over the course of a decade, the Vandals MC — led by fearless founder Johnny — a group who love to sit around talking about bikes, smoke and drink — begins taking a turn into violence. They eventually dip their toes into organized crime leaving Johnny, Benny (heir to the throne) and Kathy to question their loyalty.
Who’s in it?
Jodie Comer (Kathy) is probably best known for the role that won her a Primetime Emmy Award as a sociopathic assassin in “Killing Eve” (2018-2022). She also has a medieval true story in her repertoire, “The Last Duel,” and for you "Star Wars" fans, yes, that was Jodie you saw as Rey’s mother in “Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker.”
After playing Manson Family member Tex Watson in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," Austin Butler (Benny) shot to mainstream stardom after his powerful portrayal of the King of Rock n’ Roll in 2022’s Baz Luhrman’s “Elvis.” Going all in and embodying Elvis Presley for over two years earned Butler a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nod. Since then, Butler hasn’t slowed down for one minute, starring in “Dune: Part Two” and Apple TV+ nine-part war drama miniseries “Masters of the Air.”
While Tom Hardy (Johnny) earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for “The Revenant,” most people probably know him best as the Batman villain Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises.” In 2018, he switched superhero universes from the DC to Marvel to star in “Venom” (let the DC versus Marvel debate commence). But the breakthrough role that made him well-known in the U.S. was 2010's “Inception” (did anyone really understand that movie?).
While it may look cliché, "The Bikeriders" isn’t your typical biker movie. Underneath all the leather jackets, Harley riding, bar fighting and intimidation, lies a story about loyalty, love, morality and betrayal.
Facts Too Fun Not To Share:
- Nichols said the casting started with Austin Butler. All it took was seeing the Elvis trailer — before the movie was even released.
- Most of the cast did their own riding on an array of period-accurate bikes.