Alexander Skarsgård, star of the upcoming gay biker film Pillion, has revealed that the version of the film which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival has been toned down.

“There’s definitely a raunchier version of this movie … what you’ve seen is the family friendly version… there’s also the Alexander Skarsgard cut,” the film’s star told Variety.

The director, Harry Lighton, also spoke to the publication and revealed that he removed a shot of an erect penis from the final cut.

“It was purely because I didn’t want to push the audience into feeling they were being deliberately shocked by an image,” he explained. “So for example, there was one close up of a dick, a hard dick … like down the barrel of the lens. And after watching the film on that ‘fuck-off’ screen I thought, yeah, cutting it was probably the right decision!”

The film is apparently subject to further cuts in advance of its US release, with Lighton admitting he has been told to “de-shine” some ejaculation in one shot.

“Apparently that’s what pushes you over the edge!” he said.

The movie, produced by Element Pictures and described by sources close to the project as a “fun and filthy romance with heart,” debuted at the French film festival last weekend.

According to a press release, Pillion follows ‘Colin (Harry Melling), a weedy wallflower letting life pass him by. That is until Ray (Skarsgård), the impossibly handsome leader of a motorbike club, takes him on as his submissive. Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way.

The film was warmly received at Cannes, winning rave reviews and an eight-minute-long standing ovation from the crowd, which included Pedro Pascal. Pillion currently has a 100% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews.