Bucking Fastard (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Bucking Fastard follows sisters Jean and Joan Holbrooke, whose extraordinary closeness shapes how courts, journalists, helpers and opportunists respond to them. Directed and written by Werner Herzog, the 2026 English-language drama stars Kate Mara and Rooney Mara, with Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson in supporting roles.

Bucking Fastard is a 2026 drama directed and written by Werner Herzog. The film centers on Jean and Joan Holbrooke, sisters whose bond is so unusually close that they speak together, share romantic feelings and appear to experience life through the same dreams.

Kate Mara and Rooney Mara lead the cast as Jean and Joan. The film also features Orlando Bloom as Gareth Mulroney and Domhnall Gleeson as Timothy, alongside Hugh O'Conor, Simon Delaney, Terry McMahon and Shane Connellan.

Bucking Fastard movie details

Story without spoilers

Jean and Joan Holbrooke are deeply connected sisters who speak in unison, love the same man and share the same dreams. Their closeness extends even to making the same slip of the tongue at the same moment.

Rather than presenting events solely from the sisters’ perspective, Bucking Fastard examines how other people and institutions respond to them. Courts and the press become part of that view, as do people who offer assistance, people who seek to take advantage of them, and the natural world around them. The synopsis also points to echoes of the sisters in both tame and wild animals and in the earth itself.

What to expect

This is a drama built around an unusual sisterly relationship and the ways that relationship is interpreted by the surrounding world. Its premise places personal identity, public scrutiny and competing forms of attention at the center of the story, while the courts, press and natural imagery broaden the film beyond a private family portrait.

The supplied details suggest a serious, distinctive film rather than a conventional relationship drama. The focus is on the sisters’ shared experience and the reactions it provokes, with the story moving through social, institutional and natural perspectives.

Cast and creative team

Werner Herzog serves as both director and writer of Bucking Fastard. Kate Mara plays Jean Holbrooke, while Rooney Mara plays Joan Holbrooke. Orlando Bloom portrays Gareth Mulroney, and Domhnall Gleeson plays Timothy. The supporting cast includes Hugh O'Conor, Simon Delaney, Terry McMahon and Shane Connellan.

• Kate Mara as Jean Holbrooke
• Rooney Mara as Joan Holbrooke
• Hugh O'Conor
• Simon Delaney
• Terry McMahon
• Shane Connellan
• Orlando Bloom as Gareth Mulroney
• Domhnall Gleeson as Timothy

Release and production context

Bucking Fastard is listed as a 2026 production from the United States of America, with English as its spoken language. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes and is scheduled for release on September 3, 2026. The production companies are Cobalt Sky Motion Picture Group and Gateway to Orkney. The film is classified as a drama and is listed as released in the supplied metadata.

Production companies: Cobalt Sky Motion Picture Group, Gateway to Orkney

Movies Dock view

With its shared-sister premise, institutional scrutiny and Werner Herzog serving as both writer and director, Bucking Fastard has a clearly defined dramatic identity. The combination of Kate Mara and Rooney Mara in the central roles gives the film’s unusual relationship a focused two-hander at its core, while the wider cast and social perspectives expand its scope.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb