Chris Hemsworth and Hulkamania is about to run wild.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor is signing on to play the iconic wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan in a biopic project that will be directed by Todd Phillips (The Joker). Netflix is nearing a deal to market and distribute. Michael Sugar (Spotlight) will be producing, along with Phillips and Bradley Cooper. Co-producers to include Hemsworth and Eric Bischoff.
Born Terry Gene Bollea, Hogan was a wrestling entertainer that preached to kids to say their prayers and eat their vitamins. He became a main event attraction for the then-WWF winning the heavyweight title in 1984 against the Iron Sheik. He would have legendary encounters with the likes of Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, and Ric Flair before rebranding his image as the villainous Hollywood Hogan in the mid-’90s when his good-guy status had waned.
But outside the ring Hogan’s personal issues (including a sex tape scandal that led to a lawsuit with Gawker) and racially-insensitive remarks made, for a period, WWE disassociate themselves from one of wrestling’s biggest icons.
The upcoming docudrama will not cover this period in Hogan’s life. Sources close to the project say it is going to be about the origin of Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania.
The development of a Hogan biopic for Netflix follows on the heels that the streaming giant is working with WWE Studios on a number of upcoming movie projects.
