It’s been over seven-and-a-half years since acclaimed filmmaker last had a film in movie theaters, and with tonight’s release of , the interminable wait for his sixth feature is now over. In the aftermath of his two 2016 releases, and , Nichols knew he needed to take a step back and rejuvenate himself, creatively. However, through no fault of his own, his breather became far more prolonged than intended due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances including 2019’s Disney-Fox merger, 2020’s pandemic and 2023’s double strike.

In the case of the Disney-Fox merger that was completed in 2019, it effectively ended Nichols’ four years’ worth of development on his film. The Arkansas native had already been working on an original sci-fi film, but at the urging of 20th Century Fox, he agreed to retrofit his script for the sake of using a recognizable IP as a springboard. Ultimately, the project, at least in that form, wasn’t meant to be despite completing prep and casting.

In 2022, the and filmmaker then pivoted to his long-gestating idea to adapt Danny Lyon’s 1967 photojournalistic book, , which chronicles a Chicago-area motorcycle club in the mid-1960s. Nichols was initially turned onto the book by his older brother, Ben Nichols, at least two decades ago. Ben is the frontman for the Memphisian rock band , and in 2005, he channeled his own love for Lyon’s book into a song called In turn, the song would serve as a frequent reminder for Jeff to do his own fictionaliz.