Austin Butler’s return to the big screen isn’t too far away. It was announced that The Bikeriders, starring Butler, will hit movie theaters on June 21, 2024, distributed by Focus Features.
Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, the highly anticipated crime epic also stars Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and Norman Reedus, following the rise of a midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals.
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“Seen through the lives of its members, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group’s unique way of life,” the movie summary reads.
As part of an interview with his Dune: Part Two co-star Josh Brolin for Interview Magazine, Butler reflected on his experience of working with Hardy on Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama, inspired by Danny Lyon’s book of photography. Butler plays a reckless bikerider belonging to Hardy’s Midwest gang in the 1960s.
During a break from Dune: Part Two production, Butler said he trained on motorcycles “every day” to convey the character of The Bikeriders fully. “To get to ride motorcycles through Cincinnati, through these cornfields, it was just amazing,” Butler said. “You know what that feels like, where the wind is in your hair. You feel like you’re mainlining God.”
He concluded, “There’s such a trust as well, when we’d be in these groups of 40, riding bikes down a tiny road, and you’re thinking, ‘If anybody were to crash right now, all of us would go down.’ And we’re not wearing helmets, riding through cornfields as fast as we can. I don’t know how they insured the film, to be honest. And you’re riding behind a picture car as well, it’s kicking up pebbles in your face, so you’re getting hit in the eyes with rocks. It was so visceral. It was a great group.”
Director Nichols spoke to Variety in October about how he came to cast Butler, noting that since bike movies in Hollywood are now so rare, “actors were lining up to be involved.” “In fact,” Nichols said, “I was turning people down to be in this movie.”
The first person to sign on was Butler. “Austin Butler was an incoming call, and my producer called me and was like, ‘You gotta meet this young guy, Austin,’” he explained. Although Baz Luhrmann’s biopic had yet to be released, Nichols knew the actor had been cast as Elvis. “I was at this restaurant, and he walked up and shook my hand. He’s like 6-foot-3, and his hair is blonde and didn’t look like Elvis’ hair. I was immediately struck by the fact that this was the most attractive person I’ve ever met in my life.”
But more than his attractiveness, Nichols found in Butler someone who possessed the ability and skill to perform the role as he had imagined. “I needed a character that the audience would not question that this woman Kathy and this man Johnny would put so much into,” Nichols said.
“He’s like an empty glass of water. They pour all of this stuff into him, and he just can’t hold it. He doesn’t want to hold it, and that’s where his acting chops come in.” The Bikeriders was scheduled to be released in December, but the SAG-AFTRA strike delayed the release.
