The Big Picture

• The Bikeriders stars Austin Butler as Benny, a member of the Vandals MC in the 1960s, with Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and Michael Shannon.
• The fictional film is based on the real-life Outlaws MC and follows the club's evolution from a family for outcasts into organized crime.
• Originally delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Focus Features acquired the rights for The Bikeriders, set to release in theaters on June 21, 2024.

Focus Features is getting ready to speed into theaters with The Bikeriders, a film that will tell a fictionalized story of one of America's most infamous motorcycle clubs. The film will star Austin Butler, and ahead of its highly anticipated release this June, Fandango has shown off a new image on their social media accounts depicting the star of The Bikeriders as he prepares to go on his journey.

The image shows off Butler as Benny, a member of the biker group Vandals MC, a Midwestern motorcycle club in the 1960s. The image depicts Benny seated outside of a car alongside what appears to be fellow members of the Vandals. While plot details remain mostly slim, The Bikeriders will also star an ensemble cast of Jodie Comer, who will play Benny's love interest Kathy, Tom Hardy, who will portray the vengeful, villanious biker Johnny, and Michael Shannon, who portrays Zipco. Other cast members include Norman Reedus, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, and more.

While the plot of The Bikeriders is fictional, the overarching story is based on the real-life Outlaws MC, a Chicago-based outfit founded in the 1930s that remains one of the largest motorcycle clubs in the world. Faist will portray Danny Lyon, a photojournalist who published a book about the group, also called The Bikeriders, in 1967. The film shows this fictionalized version of the club through the lives of its members and their families, and the club evolves over the course of a decade from a surrogate family for local outcasts into violent organized crime, according to a synopsis of The Bikeriders from Focus.

'The Bikeriders' Has Had a Tumultuous Journey

It hasn't been an easy road to the screen for The Bikeriders, which originally began development in 2022. Originally set to be released in 2023 by Disney and 20th Century, the film was reluctantly shelved from the studio's release calendar due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Following this, New Regency, the film's production company, began shopping it around to other studios in an effort to find a new release partner. This eventually occurred when Focus acquired the film's rights after the strike ended, handing The Bikeriders a saving grace.

The Bikeriders was directed by Jeff Nichols from a self-written script. Nichols had previously said as far back as 2018 that he hoped to direct a film about a biker club. Sarah Green and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones produced the film for Tri-State Pictures, their shared production banner with Nichols, while Arnon Milchan produced the film for New Regency. Fred Berger executive produced the film.

The Bikeriders will be released in theaters on June 21, 2024. The film's new image can be seen below: