20th Century Studios has released the official trailer for The Bikeriders hot on the heels of its enthusiastic reception at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival. The trailer focuses on the relationship between Tom Hardy’s Johnny, leader of a ’60s motorcycle club, and his friend/follower, Benny (Elvis‘ Austin Butler), whose wife, Kathy (played by Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer) feels like she’s in competition for her husband’s attention.
The two-minute trailer features Butler giving off a James Dean vibe, Hardy wrapping his tongue around a Midwestern accent, and Comer providing narration and setting up the backstory. Plus, the video teases lots of fist fights, lots of motorcycle riding (and smoking), and the burning of a bar when the club’s insulted by its owner.
The Bikeriders‘ ensemble also includes Michael Shannon (Bullet Train), Mike Faist (West Side Story), Boyd Holbrook (Logan), and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead). And according to 20th Century Studios, many members of the film’s cast did their own riding scenes.
Written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Loving, Midnight Special), The Bikeriders will open in theaters on December 1, 2023. (Update: The film was moved off of a 2023 release to 2024.)
The Plot:
The Bikeriders is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members. Inspired by Danny Lyon’s iconic book of photography, The Bikeriders immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders.
Kathy (Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Hardy). Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention.
As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny, and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
