''The Iron Claw'' is an upcoming sport

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

written and directed by

Sean Durkin Timothy Sean Durkin (born December 9, 1981) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He won the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for ''Martha Marcy May Marlene''. His short film, ''Mary Last Seen'', on ...

and produced and distributed by

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

. It is based on the life of professional wrestler

Kevin Von Erich Kevin Ross Adkisson (born May 15, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kevin Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with his father's World Class Ch ...

and the

Von Erich family The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fri ...

, and stars

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' trilo ...

with an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

including

Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), better known by her stage name Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series ''Ju ...

Harris Dickinson Harris Dickinson (born 24 June 1996) is an English actor. He began his career with a starring role in the drama ''Beach Rats'' (2017), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He has since played John Paul ...

Maura Tierney Maura Therese Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009), ...

, and

Holt McCallany Holt McCallany (born Holt Quinn McAloney; September 3, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for portraying FBI Special Agent Bill Tench on the series '' Mindhunter'' (2017–2019) and has had leading and supporting roles in various television ...

, amongst others.

Synopsis

The film is centered around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers from the 1960s onwards that had enormous success, and popularized the iron claw professional wrestling hold. However, they not only had to battle inside the ring, but fight the “Von Erich curse” outside of it.

Cast

as Pam Adkisson *

David Von Erich David Alan Adkisson (July 22, 1958 – February 10, 1984) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name David Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich Family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with World Class Champion ...

as Doris Von Erich *

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion ...

Jeremy Allen White Jeremy Allen White (born February 17, 1991) is an American actor. He is best known for his long-running role as Phillip "Lip" Gallagher on the Showtime dramedy series '' Shameless'' (2011–2021). He has also appeared in the first season of the t ...

Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with ...

*Stanley Simons as

Mike Von Erich Michael Brett Adkisson (March 2, 1964 – April 12, 1987) was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Mike Von Erich. His four brothers, David, Kerry, Kevin and Chris, also wrestled. He was the son of longtime Texas wrestler and wres ...

Maxwell Jacob Friedman Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AE ...

Lance Von Erich William Kevin Vaughan (born April 24, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Lance Von Erich. Professional wrestling career Early career (1984–1985) Vaughan was discovered by World Class Champions ...

*Brady Pierce as Michael Hayes *Aaron Dean Eisenberg as

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

*Kevin Anton as

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...

Cazzey Louis Cereghino Cazzey Louis Cereghino is an American actor, novelist, stuntman, and singer-songwriter. Besides being recognized as one of the "What's in Your Wallet?" Capital One Vikings, he has also appeared in more Super Bowl commercials for more different ...

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the yea ...

* Chavo Guerrero Jr. as The Sheik *

Ryan Nemeth Ryan Nemeth (born November 4, 1984) is an American professional wrestler, writer, actor, and comedian who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his appearances under the ring name Briley Pierce in WWE, where he wr ...

Gino Hernandez Charles Eugene Wolfe Jr. (August 8, 1957 – February 2, 1986) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Gino Hernandez. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the Dallas, Texas-based promotion World Class Ch ...

Production

In June 2022, the Sean Durkin project was announced to have Zac Efron aboard and A24 financing it, after the film was developed by House Productions, with the support of Access Entertainment, and BBC Film. In September 2022, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson were announced as joining the project with White, Dickinson and Efron to play the Von Erich brothers. Tessa Ross, Derrin Schlesinger and Harrison Huffman were announced as producers. In October 2022, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, and Lily James were revealed to have joined the project. Juliette Howell, and Angus Lamont were said to be producing for House Productions. The film began principal photography in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

in October 2022.

Marshall Von Erich Marshall and Ross Von Erich are an American professional wrestling tag team, consisting of brothers Marshall and Ross Adkisson. They are the sons of Kevin Von Erich. They are currently signed to Major League Wrestling, where they are former World ...

said he was encouraged by the presence of

Chavo Guerrero Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federatio ...

as wrestling consultant on set in terms of the production trying to portray accuracy.

Release

In November 2022 the film was slated to have a 2023 release date.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Claw, The 2020s biographical films 21st-century biographical films A24 (company) films American biographical drama films BBC Film films British biographical drama films Biographical films about sportspeople Films shot in Louisiana Films set in the 1970s Professional wrestling films Upcoming films