Austin Butler and Tom Hardy rev up in retro trailer for ‘Bikeriders’ movie
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — Austin Butler is leaving his “Elvis” persona behind as he takes on a grittier role in upcoming movie “The Bikeriders.”
Starring alongside Tom Hardy and “Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer, Butler plays Benny, a devoted member of the Vandals biker gang in 1960s Chicago.
In what feels like an update to “The Outsiders,” Butler’s character is a charismatic greaser who at one point is seen in the movie’s first trailer released on Thursday sitting at a bar wearing his leather jacket that illustrates his biker gang loyalty.
“You’d have to kill me to get this jacket off,” he says to a group seeking trouble at the bar, illustrating his utter devotion.
Hardy plays the brutish Vandals gang founder Johnny, and is seen talking to Butler about how he “built this club from nothing,” and that he can’t run it himself forever. “This is our family,” he adds.
Directed by Jeff Nichols, “The Bikeriders” is inspired by the 1968 photo-book of the same name by Danny Lyon, which captures firsthand stories from members of the Chicago Outlaws motorcycle gang amid the ’60s counterculture movement.
“It was the golden age of bikeriders and I never felt so out of place in my whole life,” Comer’s Kathy says, as the trailer cuts to a brooding Butler holding court at the pool table in what appears to be a biker bar. “That’s when I saw him for the first time,” she added. “He took my breath away.”
Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, Karl Glusman, Damon Herriman, Norman Reedus, Beau Knapp and “West Side Story” star Mike Faist round out the cast.
“The Bikeriders” will premiere in theaters on December 1.
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