Chris Hemsworth is going to play Hulk Hogan in a new biopic.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hemsworth, who reprises his long-running role as Thor in April’s Avengers: Endgame, will portray the wrestling star (real name Terry Bollea) in a film directed by Todd Phillips (Joker, The Hangover films). Bradley Cooper is also listed as a producer, with Bollea as executive producer.
The film will apparently only focus on Hogan’s rise as a wrestler, from his start on the Florida circuit in the late ’70s to his ascent to the WWF and the branding of Hulkamania in the ’80s. The biopic will reportedly not delve into his sex-tape scandal (which got him removed from the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 after he used a racial slur in said sex tape) or the Peter Thiel-assisted defamation lawsuit that subsequently bankrupt Gawker. That’s going to be its own movie. Still, there was some backlash on Twitter after the announcement, as critics brought up Hogan’s racist past.
Hemsworth is the only cast member announced so far, but there is certainly room for a big-name ensemble cast. Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II threw his name in the ring to play legendary wrestler Booker T.
I’m playing Booker T?? Right?? https://t.co/X8gjsyHN3X
— Yahya Abdul-Mateen 2 (@yahya) February 20, 2019