Inside the Hulk Hogan Biopic with Chris Hemsworth and Why It Was Never Made
Hulk Hogan's life story was almost a feature film before his death.
The former wrestler, who gained fame in the '80s and '90s, died on Thursday, July 24 at 71. He was set to be portrayed by one of Hollywood's most chiseled actors, Chris Hemsworth, in a Netflix biopic. But, according to Hogan in a former interview, contract issues killed the project.
First announced in 2019, the film was to be helmed by Joker director Todd Phillips. The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time that Hemsworth, 41, would play Hogan throughout his career and the movie would be "an origin story of the Hulkster and Hulkamania."
In a 2020 interview with Total Film, via Comic Book, Hemsworth shared his excitement for portraying the rise of Hulkamania on screen.
"This movie is going to be a really fun project," Hemsworth said. "As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical. I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor. There is the accent as well as the physicality and the attitude."
"I will also have to do a deep dive into the rabbit hole of the wrestling world, which I'm really looking forward to doing," Hemsworth said, adding he'll also have to dye his hair blond and have a mustache to match the wrestler's iconic look.
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In 2021, the film still seemed a go — with Hogan sharing an appreciative photo of the Thor actor showing off some bulky arms on Instagram. "My brother has that Hogan Pump on Jack, looks like he could slam Andre brother," Hogan captioned the shot, referring to late iconic wrestler Andre the Giant. (Hemsworth had originally posted the photo on his social media to celebrate wrapping Thor: Love and Thunder.)
Three years later, during an interview with PDB Podcast, Hogan revealed while he loved the script and even believed Hemsworth could receive Oscar attention, the film had hit a dead end due to the contract.
'They kind of missed a beat in the contract," Hogan said, agreeing with host Patrick Bet-David when asked if Netflix was at fault.
"There was a payment that wasn't placed at the right time. The script was amazing. Scott Silver, who wrote the script for Joker, Wolf of Wall Street, a bunch of other movies, said, 'This is the best thing I've ever written.' When I read it, I'm like, oh my god, this is really good."
Hogan shared that he worked with Silver for three years, noting it was "very, very dark" but it "was probably what the public may want to see."
"When I read it I was like, 'Oh my gosh, if this thing comes out…' there was talk that Chris Hemsworth had never played a real person before and he could probably win an Oscar, this thing is so powerful," Hogan added.
In a 2024 interview with Variety, Phillips, 54, also confirmed the film was scrapped. "I love what we were trying to do, but that's not going to come together for me," he said.
Hogan had starred in various films himself, including appearing in Rocky III as Thunderlips, as well as having roles in No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando, and Mr. Nanny. On television, he starred in the series Thunder in Paradise and Hogan Knows Best, and had guest appearances on shows like Baywatch and American Dad!.
Hogan was recently the subject of the 2017 Netflix film, Nobody Speak, which focused on his high-profile lawsuit against Gawker, the online news outlet that published a sex tape without his permission. The years-long suit ended with Hogan being awarded a multimillion-dollar settlement in 2016, and Gawker and its affiliated websites were later sold off when the company declared bankruptcy.
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