‘Alpha Gang’ First Look: Cate Blanchett Leads the Zellners’ Bizarre 1950s Alien Biker Gang

Here’s our first look (via THR) at Cate Blanchett, menacingly kooky, with an eye patch, in the Zellners’ “Alpha Gang,” which is set to screen at Telluride and TIFF.

Blanchett describes “Alpha Gang,” which premieres tonight at the Telluride Film Festival, as “alien Chekhovian,” a unique description for David and Nathan Zellner’s absurdist sci-fi comedy. The film follows a group of aliens posing as a 1950s biker gang in Eastern Europe as they attempt to understand humanity while carrying out their vague mission of conquest.

Blanchett was drawn to the brothers’ sincere approach to the bizarre premise. “There’s a strong heartbeat in their movies often, even despite how absurd and ridiculous they are,” she says. “They point to how seriously we take ourselves.”

Alongside Blanchett, the film features a wildly eclectic ensemble including Dave Bautista, Lily-Rose Depp, Riley Keough, Léa Seydoux, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Doona Bae, with Chris Pine also making an appearance.

The Zellners developed the project for roughly a decade, with David writing an early draft in 2018 and drawing inspiration from 1950s biker culture, “Happy Days” and “Grease.” The production eventually shot at real locations across Budapest, Bulgaria and Croatia, including ancient fortresses, medieval ruins and brutalist monuments.

“Alpha Gang” was originally announced in 2020 with a very different cast that included Jon Hamm, Steven Yeun, Andrea Riseborough and Nicholas Hoult, but scheduling changes forced the Zellners to wait for the right combination of performers.

The Zellners are coming off their memorable 2024 film “Sasquatch Sunset,” which starred Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough as a family of sasquatches and became one of the more memorably bizarre films of that year. Ther ‘Sasquatch’ DP, Mike Gioulakis (“It Follows,” “Us,” “Split”) is back for “Alpha Gang.”