Tom Hardy is releasing a full-length rap album with underground hip-hop collective Czarface later this summer. Titled Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer, the record arrives in August 2026, with Hardy rapping under his Frankie Pulitzer name alongside Inspectah Deck, 7L and Esoteric.
The group previewed the album on 25 June with its first single, “Brothers Grimm”. Built around a distinctly 1990s-inspired hip-hop beat, the track sees Inspectah Deck and Esoteric deliver their verses before Hardy takes over for the closing section. Method Man and Busta Rhymes are also expected to appear on the record, adding further familiar names from the wider hip-hop world to the collaboration.
While the announcement may surprise anyone who primarily knows Hardy from films including Venom, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Dark Knight Rises, his interest in rap stretches back decades. Hardy previously revealed that he secured a record deal as a teenager and recorded a large collection of music under the name Tommy No 1. A mixtape titled Falling on Your Arse, created with producer Edward Tracy, eventually appeared online in 2018 after remaining unreleased for years.
His connection with Czarface is also not entirely new. Hardy collaborated with the group on the 2021 EP Good Guys, Bad Guys and later appeared alongside Method Man on “Knull & Void”, which featured during the credits of Venom: The Last Dance. Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer will therefore mark the next and most substantial chapter of a musical partnership that has quietly been developing for several years.
For CultureCues, this may sound like one of the more unexpected celebrity stories of the year, but this is clearly not something he has decided to try overnight. He has been writing, recording and working within hip-hop for decades, and “Brothers Grimm” shows that he is taking the album seriously while still enjoying it. From Gotham villain to underground rapper, Hardy continues to keep us guessing.
Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer will be released in August 2026.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.