Everyone’s Talking About ‘Pillion’: When Can You Watch Alexander Skarsgård’s Gay Biker Romance?
What To Know
- Pillion is a gay romance film from A24.
- It stars Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling as partners in a BDSM relationship set within a biker subculture.
- The film, which is already out in the U.K., now has a U.S. release date.
Alexander Skarsgård‘s gay, BDSM rom-com has hit the timeline.
Pillion isn’t new to our social media feeds, however. We’ve been seeing buzz about the film for months, ever since Skarsgård rocked a halter top on the red carpet at the premiere. Now, Pillion‘s kinky trailer has sparked even more chatter, offering a glimpse at Skarsgård’s leather-clad biker and his submissive partner (Harry Melling).
alexander skarsgård in pillion (2025) pic.twitter.com/L5vySWwTND
— vitor (@connellwaIdron) January 13, 2026
Those in the U.K. have already been treated to a theatrical and digital release — but what about everyone in the U.S.? Get the full rundown about Pillion‘s overseas release date, plot, and more below.
When is Pillion‘s release date in the U.S.?
A24 snagged Pillion for U.S. distribution all the way back in October 2024, but the company only recently revealed that it will arrive in select theaters on February 6 and expand nationwide on February 20. Wuthering Heights/Pillion double feature, anyone?
What is Pillion about?
Pillion charts a sadomasochistic relationship between the timid, barber shop quartet-singing Colin (Melling) and enigmatic biker gang leader Ray (Skarsgård). Once Colin catches Ray’s eye at a London pub, he becomes Ray’s domestic and erotic submissive. It gives Colin’s life direction, but as time goes on, he has to figure out if being a 24/7 submissive is what he really wants and needs out of life.
Naturally, there will be plenty of heat in Pillion. “I often find sex scenes boring on screen,” Skarsgård told Empire. “There’s a lot of tension leading up to [them], and then once people get going, it’s not very interesting. But these scenes were dramatically quite interesting. There’s lust, but also jealousy and confusion and pain.”
He commended his costar Melling at the Zurich Film Festival for how he approached the sex scenes. “Harry did a beautiful job of calibrating it. You don’t shy away from it because ‘Oh, we can’t show men having sex,’ but you also don’t show a close-up of a dick just because you can, for the shock value. I think my mom will like this movie, and it’s about kinky gay bikers and a D/s relationship. Portrayed with the perfect amount of respect, but not too much respect,” he said, according to Variety.
While you can expect spice, you shouldn’t go in expecting a rom-com in the traditional sense. “What’s so interesting about it, for me, was how it feels so relatable and familiar, but maybe dealing with a subculture that people aren’t so familiar with,” Melling told Variety. “It was how those two things interplay that I found so fascinating. You were taking romantic comedy tropes and subverting them.”
Who is in the Pillion cast?
The cast is small beyond Melling and Skarsgård. Lesley Sharp and Douglas Hodge play Colin’s supportive parents, with whom he lives at the start. Ray’s biker gang is, in fact, a real-life biker gang: the U.K.’s Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club, who helped with Lighton’s research. “I wanted to cast people who didn’t feel like they were playing dress-up in these parts,” the director told Screen Daily.
Who made Pillion?
Pillion is director Harry Lighton’s first feature, though his 2017 short Wren Boys was nominated for a BAFTA. Lighton also wrote Pillion’s script, which was inspired by Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 novel Box Hill. (The latter penned an essay about watching his book come to life onscreen for The Guardian.)
Is there a Pillion trailer?
You can get a taste of Colin and Ray’s dynamic in the video at the top of the page.
What do you think about what you’ve seen of the movie so far? Tell us in the comments below!
Pillion, February 6, In Theaters
