Hulk Hogan Reveals Why Netflix Biopic With Chris Hemsworth Was Canned

As a film enthusiast who has spent countless hours immersed in the world of wrestling and biopics, I find myself both intrigued and saddened by the news of the scrapped Hulk Hogan biopic. Having grown up in the 80s and 90s when Hulkamania was sweeping the nation, I can’t help but wonder what could have been if this project had come to fruition.

2019 saw Netflix confirming plans for a biographical film about iconic professional wrestler, Hulk Hogan. The role of the WWE Hall of Famer, famous for his ‘Hulkamania’ phenomenon in the 80s, was given to Chris Hemsworth. This movie, directed by Todd Phillips, who also helmed “Joker”, was intended to depict his rise to fame, including his historic first WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory from The Iron Sheik and how Hulk Hogan’s popularity continued well into the 90s.

Previously this year, Phillips disclosed details about the project’s production, revealing it had essentially been abandoned. This sparked curiosity among wrestling enthusiasts as to why, but he remained tight-lipped about specifics then. More recently, Hogan has shed some light on the situation, clarifying that certain clauses in the contract didn’t materialize.

“They kind of missed a beat in the contract, yeah [when Patrick Bet-David said Netflix screwed up]. There was a payment that wasn’t placed at the right time,” Hogan said on the PBD podcast. “The script was amazing. Scott Silver, who wrote the script for Joker, Wolf of Wall Street, a bunch of other movies, said, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever written.’ When I read it, I’m like, oh my god, this is really good. At the time, I was in a space where I told him the positive stuff about wrestling.”

He continues, noting that the script was actually very dark and there was belief that Hemsworth could’ve won an Oscar for his performance. He also details how it would’ve taken fans right up until the point he went heel as Hollywood Hogan and left the WWE for WCW. If it had done as well as they’d predicted it would, Hogan explains there would have been an opportunity to make a follow up.

For nearly three years, I collaborated extensively with this author. Upon reading it, I found the narrative to be extremely gloomy, if I may use that term. However, it seemed fitting for what the audience might be interested in. Reading it left me thinking, ‘If this book gets published…’, as there were discussions suggesting Chris Hemsworth had never portrayed a real person before, and the power of this work could potentially earn him an Oscar.

Currently, there’s a fresh wave of enthusiasm for sports, sparked by A24’s biopic The Iron Claw , which delved into the tragic tale of the Von Erich family. Not long ago, Netflix premiered the provocative Mr. McMahon series, shedding light on Vince McMahon’s scandals during his rise to power at WWE. This exposure encompasses the recent sexual assault accusations levied by Ms. Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, against both McMahon and John Laurinaitis, the former Head of Talent Relations, for inappropriate behavior.

2024-11-06 05:09

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