Tom Hardy and Austin Butler Form a Violent Biker Gang in ‘The Bikeriders’ Trailer

The film is set to release in theaters on Dec. 1

Tom Hardy and Austin Butler are joining forces in their new film The Bikeriders.

A new trailer for the film released on Wednesday shows Hardy and Butler’s characters forming a bike gang in Chicago, 1965, getting in fights, setting bars on fire and riding their motorcycles around the city.

“I’ve been thinking. I can’t run this club forever,” Hardy’s character Johnny says in the trailer, referring to his Vandals bike gang. “I built this from nothing. This is our family.” 

The trailer also shows the meet-cute between Butler’s character, Benny, and Jodie Comer’s character, Kathy, in a bar. She can be seen recalling their story to another character saying, “That’s when I saw him for the first time. He took my breath away. Five weeks later I married him. I thought I could change him, you know?”

Austin Butler as Benny in 20th Century Studios THE BIKERIDERS

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Multiple fight scenes are shown, including one at a gathering outdoors and at a bar, which Johnny eventually sets on fire. Additional shots show more violence as Butler’s character asks, “Is that what this club is now?”

The film’s trailer also highlights the conflict between Johnny and Kathy as they fight over Benny’s future in the biker gang, with Comer’s character appearing to disapprove of some of the things in the gang. 

“The club got real big, real fast. They started running drugs, gambling, prostitution,” she says.

The Bikeriders is a drama following the “rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members,” according to a press release. The film follows Comer’s character Kathy as she recounts the gang’s evolution throughout the decades. 

Tom Hardy as Danny in 20th Century Studios THE BIKERIDERS

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

“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,” a synopsis for the film said.

The film, which is inspired by Danny Lyon’s photography book on bikers, promises to “immerse” audiences in the “bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders.”

It is written and directed by Jeff Nichols, who also directed Loving. Sarah Green, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Arnon Milchan are producers on the film and Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Sam Hanson, David Kern and Fred Berger are executive producers.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and is set to screen at the London Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 4-15.

The Bikeriders opens in theaters on Dec. 1.

Related Articles