The Bikeriders: Release date, cast and plot for Austin Butler’s new film

A starry ensemble hit the road for a gritty biker drama

Simon Bland
Updated ·4-min read
Austin Butler as Benny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
Austin Butler as Benny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)

He may be forever linked to Elvis Presley but Austin Butler has already hit the road with a host of new roles, with an appearance as a wild motorcycle rogue up next in The Bikeriders.

Based loosely on real events and inspired by the 1967 photobook of the same name by photographer and filmmaker Danny Lyon, this gritty road movie gathers a cast of big-name stars to tell a story that chronicles the rise of a fictional motorcycle gang and their clashes with mainstream society and each other.

Having premiered as the first film screened at this year’s Telluride Film Festival in late August, The Bikeriders has already revved up a host of positive reviews. Here’s everything you need to know about it before it speeds into a cinema near you, including its release date, cast, plot, trailers and more.

The Bikeriders release date

The Bikeriders (20th Century Studios)
The Bikeriders (20th Century Studios)

Directed by Midnight Special’s Jeff Nichols, The Bikeriders received its official premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31 and was welcomed warmly by critics.

UK viewers will get to have their own sneak peek of the movie when it screens during this year’s London Film Festival in early October. However, if you can’t make it to that event, you’ll find it in your local cinema from Friday, 1 December.

The Bikeriders plot

Austin Butler as Benny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
Austin Butler as Benny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)

The Bikeriders takes audiences through the rise, fall, clashes and chaos of a fictional biker gang known as the Vandals that operated in and around the American Midwest throughout the 1960s.

Their decade-long story is told to us by Kathy, the wife of a reckless rider named Benny who watches the group go from bike-and-beer-loving outsiders to a more dangerous and violent organisation.

Surrounding them are a host of other bikers, including gang leader Johnny, someone whom Benny is fiercely loyal to - to the degree that Kathy feels she must compete for her husband’s attention.

However, what starts as an innocent celebration of independence from society quickly becomes something harder to navigate, as the film’s official synopsis explains.

“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.”

Tom Hardy as Danny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
Tom Hardy as Danny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)

Story aside, Nichols aims to bring viewers into an era-authentic time-gone-by.

According to the movie’s official press release, it “immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders,” with many of its castmembers doing their own riding on era-accurate motorcycles.

The Bikeriders cast

(L-R): Austin Butler as Benny and Jodie Comer as Kathy in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
(L-R): Austin Butler as Benny and Jodie Comer as Kathy in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)

Killing Eve star Jodie Comer will be our entry into The Bikeriders as Kathy, with Butler playing her wreckless bike-riding husband Benny. Venom star Tom Hardy will play Johnny, the gang’s leader and Benny’s loyal friend. He’s also the third part of Kathy and Benny’s complex relationship, with the former often feeling maligned in favour of the latter.

Nichols’ long-time collaborator, Michael Shannon, will also star as a character named Zipco, continuing his trend of appearing in every movie the Take Shelter filmmaker has made thus far.

Michael Shannon as Zipco in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
Michael Shannon as Zipco in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
Norman Reedus as Funny Sonny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)

Fresh from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Boyd Holbrook will appear as Vandals’ rider Cal, alongside The Walking Dead favourite and no stranger to a motorcycle, Norman Reedus, as Funny Sonny.

West Side Story actor Mike Faist will play Danny Lyons, the author who created the photo book upon which the film was based, with Damon Herriman, Beau Knapp, Emory Cohen, Karl Glusman, Toby Wallace and Happy Anderson also starring.

The Bikeriders trailer

(L-R): Austin Butler as Benny and Tom Hardy as Danny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)
(L-R): Austin Butler as Benny and Tom Hardy as Danny in The Bikeriders. (20th Century Studios)

“I build this from nothing… this is our family,” rasps biker gang leader Johnny in the first trailer for The Bikeriders. With this sneak peek, we find Hardy continuing his trend of imbuing his characters with unusual voices, this time doing his best Marlon Brando impression.

Arriving in early September, this brief look at Nichols’ latest shows Kathy recalling her story, with Butler and Hardy serving up their finest smouldering biker pouts.

They don't last too long though, as things soon take a darker turn when the gang’s rebellious nature gets out of control.

The Bikeriders will screen as part of London Film Festival before hitting UK cinemas on Friday, 1 December.