Sydney Sweeney has done just about everything over the last few years, including hosting Saturday Night Live, leading a sneaky box office success with Anyone But You, starring in not one but two popular HBO shows, and even popping up in a Rolling Stones music video. Soon, she’ll add another item to her long list of accomplishments when she leads the Christy Martin biopic.
The upcoming sports drama, which could very well end up being one of the best boxing movies by the time everything is said and done, has a lot going for it with its story about Martin fighting adversity in and out of the ring, a killer cast, and a talented creative team. While we don’t yet know the Christy Martin biopic release date or even its title, there’s quite a bit we do know already. Let’s break it all down…
What Is The Christy Martin Biopic Release Date?
Nothing has been said about a potential Christy Martin biopic release date, but there’s a good chance we will see the upcoming sports drama somewhere on the 2025 movie schedule. Though it’s unlikely that it will be ready in time for the Sundance Film Festival in late January or the SXSW Film and TV Festival in March, there are a number of other fests throughout the spring, summer, and fall where the film could premiere before rolling out near the end of the year.
All that being said, be on the lookout for more information about a possible release window and final date in the coming months.
What Is The Christy Martin Biopic About?
Back when the project was first announced in May 2024, Deadline reported that the Sydney Sweeney-led Christy Martin biopic would chart the true story of the icon’s rise to become America’s most well-known boxer in the latter part of the 20th century. Additionally, director David Michôd (more on him later) had this to say about the project:
The film is about Christy as a young gay woman in small-town West Virginia in the 1990s. She came from a relatively conservative family and wasn’t allowed to be who she was so she used boxing as a vehicle to express herself and her rage. She had to make some dangerous and fundamental compromises in her life, the most important of which was marrying an incredibly dangerous man.
That “dangerous man” Michôd referenced is James Martin, Christy’s manager-turned-husband who was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder for brutally stabbing his wife, according to the Orlando Sentinel. How that chapter in Martin’s life plays out in the upcoming biopic is anyone’s guess, but we should know more soon.
The Christy Martin Biopic Cast
When the biopic finally hits the big screen (or one of the best streaming services), it will bring with it an incredible cast, even outside of Sweeney in the titular role. Here’s who’s appearing in the movie as of now.
Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin
Sydney Sweeney, whose involvement in the project has been known since the Deadline report mentioned above, will be leading things as Christy Martin in the highly-anticipated yet still untitled biopic. Sweeney, who has been called a true “movie star” by her Anyone But You co-star, shared a first look at her portrayal back in October 2024 that showed just how far she was pushing her body for the performance.
Ben Foster as James Martin
According to ESPN, Ben Foster will be playing James Martin, the manager-turned-husband who later turned against his wife and attempted to take her life. Foster previously appeared in The Survivor, a boxing biopic about an Auschwitz survivor who boxed his fellow inmates to survive the atrocities of the death camp.
Merritt Wever
Merritt Wever has also joined the Christy Martin biopic cast but her character has not yet been revealed. If her name or face looks familiar, it could have something to do with Wever having a major role in Nurse Jackie where she played Zoey. She’s also appeared in movies like Signs, Greenberg, and Birdman.
Katy O’Brian
Katy O’Brian has been one of the busiest names in Hollywood as of late, and that trend will continue at least a little while longer now that she’ll appear in an undisclosed role in the upcoming boxing biopic. O’Brian, who appeared on shows like The Walking Dead and Black Lightning before landing a major role on The Mandalorian, is also set to show up in Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Ethan Embry
Ethan Embry, best known for appearing in iconic ‘90s movies like Empire Records, Can’t Hardly Wait, and That Thing You Do, is also set to appear in Sydney Sweeney’s new movie. However, his role has not yet been revealed.
David Michôd Is Directing The Sports And Crime Biopic
As mentioned above, David Michôd is directing the sports and crime biopic, which he co-wrote with actress-turned-screenwriter Mirrah Foulkes. When the project was first announced in May 2024, Michôd told Deadline that a movie like this was something he has wanted to make for a long time:
I have a history of making movies about damaged men and I’d been wanting to make a film about a woman with a ferocious energy inside her. When I came across the Christy Martin story two years ago I knew I’d found it. Her ferocity is intelligible and justifiable and audiences will crave it because of the circumstances she was forced to endure.
Michôd, who is probably best known for directing the 2010 crime drama Animal Kingdom, which was later turned into a successful TNT series, as well as The King, has a long history of focusing his attention on dynamic and dysfunctional characters, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles Martin’s story.
Production Wrapped In November 2024
Though we don’t yet know when the drama will be released, we don’t have to worry about production delays slowing things down because principal photography has already wrapped. In November 2024, Sweeney took to Instagram to announce that shooting had been completed on the highly anticipated film.
In a heartfelt message (which included a picture of her alongside the real-life Christy Martin), Sweeney said the shoot was “one of the most emotional, transformative experiences” of her life before calling Martin’s journey “deeply inspiring.” On top of that, the Immaculate actress said that having Martin by her side was “nothing short of surreal.”
The Film’s Producers Have Described Christy Martin’s Story As The ‘Female Rocky’
Though there will inevitably be some darker moments in the upcoming Christy Martin movie, it sounds like the biopic will also be championing the life and career of the dynamic boxing sensation. When discussing the project with Deadline back in May 2024, producer Kerry Kohansky-Roberts described the boxer’s story as the “female Rocky,” stating:
David [Michôd] and I have been saying that this is a female Rocky. To make the cover of Sports Illustrated was hard enough, to do it as a female boxer was outstanding and she paved the way for so many boxers and MMA fighters to come.
As Kohansky-Roberts referenced in the quote, Martin appeared on the April 15, 1996 cover of Sports Illustrated with a line describing her as boxing’s new sensation. Martin became the first female boxer to grace the cover of the legendary sports magazine.
Expect to hear a lot more about Sydney Sweeney’s Christy Martin biopic in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, take a look at this breakdown of the 26 movies of 2025 you should absolutely see in theaters.
