From Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal‘s Foe to Peter Dinklage and Anne Hathaway‘s She Came To Me, some films have casts that sell you on the movie before seeing the trailer. The Bikeriders, which releases this weekend [21st June 2024,] takes this up a notch, with some of Hollywood’s biggest talent among the names.
Starring Austin Butler (Elvis), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Tom Hardy (Peaky Blinders), Michael Shannon (Knives Out) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), it takes us to an era of leather jackets and rumbling choppers, as three bikers live through the changes of the 1960s. Here’s what you need to know…
What is The Bikeriders about?
The Bikeriders is a film that isn’t based on any one true story, but aims to capture the essence of, as Comer’s character Kathy puts it, “the golden age of bikeriders.” Austin Butler might be the most prominent face in the trailers and posters, but Comer’s Kathy, who joined the gang when she was very young, is the main character in the story and guides us through her past in a series of retrospective interviews.
Much like in Killing Eve and her other roles, Comer switches up her accent for a Midwestern/New York American voice, as she recounts how she initially met her husband Benny (Butler). The younger Kathy is swept into the world of the Vandals, a biker gang of whom Johnny (Hardy) is also a prominent member, and the group grows in size and influence.
As the gang gets more and more caught up in “drugs, gambling, prostitution”, cracks begin to form in the once harmonious group, as the risks for the bikeriders pile up. With Johnny becoming increasingly paranoid and unstable, Kathy feels she has to balance her loyalty to him with her love for Benny, despite his volatile nature.
Who else is in the cast?
The rest of the cast includes Michael Shannon as Zipco and Norman Reedus as “Funny Sonny”, alongside Mike Faist (West Side Story) as Danny, Boyd Holbrook (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Damon Herriman (Mindhunter) as Brucie, Beau Knapp (The Lost Symbol) as Wahoo and Emory Cohen (Brooklyn) as Cockroach. The Bikeriders is directed by Mud and Midnight Special director Jeff Nichols.
When will The Bikeriders be released?
The Bikeriders will land in UK cinemas on 21st June, 2024.
