Chris Hemsworth may have tag-teamed with The Incredible Hulk in the Marvel films, but he was about to do the same with an entirely different Hulk. Legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan, that is. Back in 2019, the Australian actor planned on playing the American wrestler for a Netflix biopic project. Just when I was all in on Hemsworth getting the chance to play one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, the project fell through with Hogan explaining what really happened behind the scenes.
Playing Thor may have made Chris Hemsworth one of the world’s highest-paid actors, but he’s since played so many roles that have departed from his action-hero trope. He got fast and furious with Daniel Bruhl playing race car driver James Hunt in Rush, cast in Bad Times at the El Royale as a manipulative cult leader, and first mate Owen Chase in Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea, to name a few.
But Chris Hemsworth had the chance to play a role entirely different from anything we’ve ever seen him in before planning to play Hulk Hogan in a new Netflix biopic. Just as I was pumped up to see the Extraction actor don the white ‘stache and getting ripped for the ring, the real-life wrestler disclosed an update that there was no “green light” on the project. Hulk Hogan spoke on the PBD Podcast about what really happened with the canceled biopic:
They kind of missed a beat in the contract, yeah [when Patrick Bet-David said Netflix screwed up]. 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. At the time, I was in a space where I told him the positive stuff about wrestling.
It appears that even if the script was a success, business dealings weren’t working out for Netflix in making the project happen. On the other hand, Hulk Hogan pulled out of the Netflix biopic, fearing that viewers might only remember him through his Netflix portrayal. As much as the former WWE member loved the Oscar-worthy script of the sports biopic, he also found it incredibly dark as he saw the upcoming movie would show the good and bad of professional wrestling. Hogan did experience some dark moments in his life like his high-profile divorce from Linda Claridge, a leaked sex tape scandal, and the physical toll that wrestling put on him. So, something tells me the planned Netflix film was going to explore some of these heavy events.
The opportunity to see Chris Hemsworth portray Hulk Hogan would have been such an entertaining sight to see. Based on his experience playing a long-haired, muscular-bound Son of Asgard in the Thor movies, the Furiosa actor would absolutely pull off playing a force of nature in the wrestling ring. It would have been incredible to see Hemsworth bring out Hogan’s larger-than-life personality as well as the emotional vulnerabilities the wrestler faced in his life.
Plus, Chris Hemsworth’s transformation into playing “Hollywood” Hogan would involve more than just seeing the Star Trek actor wear the wrestler’s signature bleach-blonde mustache and use an ‘80s American accent. We would have seen the talented actor get himself into wrestling shape just like he’s done for his other roles. Hemsworth got fit for the Thor movies by training once to twice a day and then eating six meals of protein and vegetables daily. Then, the People’s Choice Award winner got insanely skinny for In the Heart of the Sea doing a new diet and training program called “Lost at Sea.”
Even though the Hulk Hogan biopic was still in the development stages, Chris Hemsworth still showed what a dedicated actor he was physically preparing for the upcoming role. He revealed he was getting himself more ripped playing the five-time WWF Champion than Thor putting on more size than ever before. Considering Hogan looked beast during his time in the ring, that would make a lot of sense. Now that we know the Hulk Hogan biopic for Netflix isn’t happening, it looks like we’ll only have a fan image of what Hemsworth would look like as the infamous wrestler to hold us over.
It’s a real shame that mix-ups in Netflix business dealings were what ultimately made the upcoming Hulk Hogan biopic project not happen. I was really excited to see Chris Hemsworth take on the transformative (and potentially Oscar-worthy) role of a man who took the wrestling community by storm in the ‘80s. But as Hogan previously said his life rights were up for grabs, hopefully that means another streaming service or studio will get their hands on a Hogan biopic or even a documentary or miniseries like the WWE Hall of Famer wanted.
While the Hulk Hogan biopic isn’t coming to fruition, you can still take a look at Netflix’s 2024 movie releases so you don’t miss a beat on the latest films to stream.
