Director Todd Phillips and Netflix were in the movie’s corner, too.

Why the Hulk Hogan biopic with Chris Hemsworth never got made

Director Todd Phillips and Netflix were in the movie's corner, too.

By Jordan Hoffman

Published on July 24, 2025 05:01PM EDT

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Hulk Hogan at an event in Tampa, Fla., in 2023, and Chris Hemsworth at an event in London in 2025. Credit:

Julio Aguilar/Getty; Mike Marsland/WireImage

With the sudden news of Hulk Hogan's death, many are left wondering about the possibility of a movie based on the life of the controversial professional wrestler, reality television star, and litigant. You aren't nuts if you vaguely remember news of a potentially big project from a few years ago. Indeed, a major film was in development from some substantial Hollywood players.

In early 2019, it was announced that Chris Hemsworth would play the mustachioed strongman (making a move from Thor to Hulk, as it were.) Attached as director was Todd Phillips, who at the time had completed but had not yet released his billion-dollar success *Joker*. (His screenwriting partner Scott Silver was also on board, along with playwright Jon Pollono.)

Hulk Hogan without his shirt in 1993.

WWE/WWE via Getty

The project was set up at Netflix, with producer Michael Sugar, an Oscar winner for *Spotlight*, putting everything together. The story would follow the life of Terry Bollea (Hogan's real name) from his early years through to his mainstream success, and then his more troubling recent days in which he was involved in a lawsuit against the website Gawker and old tapes revealed him using racist language.

Then a few things happened. *Joker *came out and performed at the box office (and at the Oscars) in ways few could have predicted. More importantly, the planet shut down in March 2020 because of the novel coronavirus, shoving a great many in-the-works projects back into a drawer.

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In June 2023, Hemsworth said in an interview that he still had hopes that the movie could be made.

"There's a good story there and I'd love to tell it," he said, adding that Phillips was "deep in the world of the Joker," but that there were still conversations being had.

Phillips released *Joker: Folie à Deux* in 2024, a movie that, to the surprise of many, ended up being a big, expensive dud. While promoting the supervillain sequel, he said that he and the Hogan biopic had parted ways, telling *Variety*, "I love what we were trying to do, but that's not going to come together for me."

Chris Hemsworth without his shirt in 2022.

Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

In a podcast appearance in late 2024, Hogan himself expressed frustration with the film's dissolution. He explained that one of the interested parties "kind of missed a beat in the contract. There was a payment that wasn't placed at the right time." He added that he felt the script was terrific, and that Silver, whose work also includes *8 Mile *and *The Fighter*, said it was the best thing he'd done.

Hogan said that he and Silver spoke for "about three years" and when he finally read the screenplay, it was "very dark." He added, "When I read it I was like, 'Oh my gosh, if this thing comes out …'"

Hulk Hogan in a St. Petersburg, Fla., courtroom in 2016.

John Pendygraft-Pool/Getty

In Hollywood, however, as in the wacky storylines of pro wrestling, one must never lose hope of a twist ending. It's always possible that somehow this movie still gets made. (Allow us to suggest that all it will take is someone cutting a check to make any legal problems go away.) We may still get to cheer — and possibly boo — for the Hulkster once more.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Movies”