The Bikeriders Trailer Gives Us Yet Another Weirdo Voice From Tom Hardy

Today should be a national holiday. No, not because it's Leap Day or anything, which we all know is nothing more than an arbitrary construct in our fruitless attempts to put labels on the chaos of time and space. (I swear, that sounded less like Matthew McConaughey from the first season of "True Detective" in my head.) Instead, we ought to have the day off because Focus Features decided to bless us with another trailer for "The Bikeriders" that puts yet another oddball performance from Tom Hardy at the very front and center of the action. I mean, when you begin with an off-screen Hardy in an outrageously Chicagoan accent talking about how he wants to start a riding club instead of the actual star of the show, Austin Butler, that says it all, don't it?

Granted, the movie is about much more than Hardy's character starting a fun new hobby with his friends. Mike Shutt reviewed "The Bikeriders" for /Film out of the Austin Film Festival in November of last year and praised the fact that "there's so much power and pathos to be found here. Bolstered by a cavalcade of character actors, the trio of [Jodie] Comer, Butler, and Hardy make for a compelling triangle." But if the film's roundly positive reception or its formidable cast wasn't enough, then what better way to hedge some bets than by leaning hard on the biggest weapon at their disposal? Check out the new footage at the link above!

Jokes aside, we should all be thrilled to be getting another movie directed by Jeff Nichols. Originally expected to release in late 2023, "The Bikeriders" was one of many to be affected by the actors' strike and ended up being postponed indefinitely. Now, the marketing cycle is ramping up all over again in preparation for a primetime summer opening. It may not be the kind of film one would expect to become a blockbuster, particularly from the director behind intimate and small-scale dramas like "Shotgun Stories," "Take Shelter," "Mud," and "Midnight Special," but it's reassuring to know that Focus Features is clearly feeling bullish about this production.

The movie stars Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Tom Hardy as a trio of characters who find themselves wrapped up in a self-destructive motorcycle club (not a gang!), unfolding over the course of several years as essentially a cautionary tale against toxic masculinity and the societal pressures that force individuals into certain walks of life. If anyone could bring such familiar subject matter to life in a new and refreshing way, well, Nichols would be the one. But it sure doesn't hurt to foreground aspects like Hardy's accent, Butler's muscles (how weird is it that, for once, his typically headline-causing accent has been upstaged?), and Comer's utterly compelling screen presence.

"The Bikeriders" roars into theaters on June 21, 2024.

THE BIKERIDERS follows the rise of a midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals. 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.