Tom Hardy‘s role in The Bikeriders is highly anticipated, but his upcoming action movie is even more exciting. The British actor has had a successful career over the last few decades thanks to his ability to fit into multiple different genres and types of roles. He’s delivered dramatic performances worthy of Oscar nominations, and there is the potential that he will do so again with Jeff Nichols’ film The Bikeriders. Tom Hardy’s involvement opposite Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, plus The Bikeriders‘ Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, has helped make it among the actor’s most anticipated upcoming projects.
The chance to see Tom Hardy deliver another memorable dramatic turn (with another new accent/voice) is exciting, but so, too, are the opportunities to have him in more action-heavy roles. Whether it’s the physical transformation required for Bane in The Dark Knight Rises or tackling Max in Mad Max: Fury Road, new Tom Hardy action movies typically live up to the hype. His next movie will not deliver on the action front, but there is another film that will. Hardy has an incredibly exciting action movie coming after his dramatic return in The Bikeriders.
Tom Hardy’s next action movie is a project called Havoc, which was first announced in 2021. His involvement in the film from the start was reason enough to get excited, but the collaboration with director Gareth Evans made it even better. Evans is best known for directing The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2. The two action movies are widely regarded as some of the best modern entries in the genre. It is the chance to see Tom Hardy take on a more action-heavy role under the direction of Gareth Evans that makes Havoc so exciting.
Havoc‘s story revolves around Tom Hardy’s detective character as he fights to save a politician’s son. Further details on the plot and characters are not known, but this basic setup is expected to allow Hardy to fully flex his talents as an action movie lead. Whether in The Raid movies or Evans’ 2018 movie Apostle, the director has always shown an incredible ability to deliver memorable action sequences and get the most of out of his cast. That should mean Havoc becomes a showcase for Tom Hardy like never before.
As entertaining as it will be to see Tom Hardy in an action movie again with Havoc, the project is also more exciting due to the size of his role. The Bikeriders represents another example of Hardy being more of a character actor, sliding into impactful supporting roles over headlining major productions. Tom Hardy hasn’t been the main lead in a non-Venom movie since 2020, and his last before then was 2015. He’s spent much of his time playing smaller characters, like in Dunkirk or The Bikeriders, instead of being the star of newer projects.
Thankfully, Havoc is a film that will be carried on the back of Tom Hardy. He’s the main character of the film and the performer who is likely to be involved in the most action sequences. Hardy might ultimately be terrific in The Bikeriders, but it is exciting to know that Havoc will put him back in the lead role. Now the movie just needs to deliver on its potential quality to avoid being a disappointment for Tom Hardy.