The first-look image of A24’s forthcoming wrestling drama – The Iron Claw – has unveiled the current physique of leading man Zac Efron, who has once again modelled himself after some sort of Grecian god for the big screen.
This time around, instead of portraying ridiculously chiselled Olympic gold medallist turned lifeguard Matt Brody, the High School Musical alumni has tacked on considerable mass for the role of famed professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich AKA The Golden Warrior.
“It’s gonna be a hard job, I think. It’s a lot of information and a lot of time and so they’ve got some tough work ahead of them, but I saw a picture of the guy and he looked great,” the real-life Kevin Von Erich, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame circa 2009, recently told TMZ.
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“I don’t think I ever looked that good, so I think they’re going to do great. I’ll bet they do.”
“I’ll tell ya… for the picture that they showed me at first and the picture they showed me the other day, he must really be working out hard, because you’re right. He does have a good body.”
In addition to Efron’s Kevin Von Erich, the film is centred around two other key members of the Von Erich family, namely Kerry Von Erich – who will be brought to life by Jeremy Allen White (Shameless, The Bear) – as well as David Von Erich – who will be inhabited by Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man, Triangle of Sadness).
“This dynasty of wrestlers from the 1960s onwards had enormous success, and popularised the Ironclaw professional wrestling hold,” reads the official plot synopsis.
“But as well as fighting battles in the ring they fought the “Von Erich curse” outside of it.”
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Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson are joined by Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich, Maura Tierney as Doris Von Erich, and Lily James as a yet-to-be-disclosed character.
The Iron Claw has been written and directed by Sean Durkin, who you may be familiar with through Marcy Martha May Marlene starring Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson, as well as The Nest starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon.
A24 and Access Industries have co-financed the production with Tessa Ross, Derrin Schlesinger, and Harrison Huffman representing the former; the film has been developed by House Productions with support from both Access Entertainment and BBC Films.
As for a release date, The Iron Claw is expected to hits theatres sometime in 2023 – keep an eye out for it.
