Movie fans and professional wrestling fans alike were intrigued, if not excited by the prospect of a Hulk Hogan biopic starring Chris Hemsworth as the former wrestling champion. But five years after the project was announced, set to be directed by Joker’s Todd Philips and produced for Netflix, nothing has come of the movie. Unfortunately for fans who might have been into this, it looks like the movie is very much not happening.
Last fall Hulk Hogan revealed that the rights to his story had been lost by Netflix because the planned movie hadn’t moved forward. However, Hogan indicated he was still very interested in Hemsworth and Philips getting involved with the new project at the new studio where the rights now reside. Speaking with ScreenRant, Hemsworth indicates that there hasn’t been any further movement on the film, though he is still very much interested in playing the role. Hemsworth said…
To work with Todd Phillips, who we discussed making that film with, would be an honor and a fantastic opportunity. I can’t say it’s officially happening yet. If there was a green light, I’d get to work on it.
Hemsworth was always a solid pick to play Hulk Hogan. Professional wrestling characters look like gods already, and Hemsworth certainly has experience with that. Movies like The Wrestler and The Iron Claw have shown that there is interest in stories that take a peek behind the curtain of the professional wrestling industry. Hulk Hogan may be the most famous name in all of wrestling so a movie based on his life would certainly draw attention.
While Chris Hemsworth is clear that he would love to make the movie that was originally envisioned, he does admit that there is one thing about a Hulk Hogan biopic that would be “nerve-wracking” which is the fact that his performance would be instantly compared to the real thing. He’s much more used to being able to create his characters himself, as he did with his role in the upcoming Furiosa movie with Anya Taylor-Joy. Hemsworth continued…
But it’s interesting. Dementus’ vocal quality was something I could invent and it would be surprising to people, but there wouldn’t be any judgment or comparison. It’s a tricky thing to play a real-life character. I’ve done it once before, and people immediately have the measuring stick out and the critiques and so on. It’d be nerve-wracking, but if there’s a great script and a story to tell, I’d love to jump into it. But there’s nothing official at this point.
It looks like a new studio has the rights to make a Hulk Hogan biopic, so seeing that movie happen at some point seems likely. Whether it will look anything like what was previously announced remains to be seen, but it seems likely any studio making such a movie would want to consider Chris Hemsworth, he can certainly look the part, even Hulk Hogan thinks so, and he’s willing. And with the Joker: Folie à Deux release date coming later this year, Todd Phillips will likely be looking for something to do.