Chris Hemsworth will be portraying pro wrestler Hulk Hogan in an upcoming Netflix biopic.
Variety reported the streaming service has obtained exclusive life rights and consulting services from Hulk Hogan. The Hollywood Reporter first confirmed the news Wednesday.
The wrestler, whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea, started his career in the late 1970s in Florida, ultimately becoming the hero face of the WWF when Vince McMahon took over. Sports Illustrated reported that Hogan had a major impact on the increase in popularity of wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s, but scandal in the 2000s diminished his legacy.
In 2012, Hogan sued Gawker media for $100 million for invasion of privacy after the company published a sex tape that allegedly included the wrestler with the wife of a friend. The video also appeared to show Hogan using the N-word multiple times.
Hogan reached a $31 million settlement with Gawker in 2016, and the company filed for bankruptcy and sold itself to Univision for $135 million.
In the fallout, Hogan's contract with the World Wrestling Hall of Fame was terminated, and references to the wrestler were removed from the WWE website. He was reinstated into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film won't be focusing on those later years and the biopic won't cover Hogan's entire life.
"Instead, sources say it will focus on his rise and is described as an origin story of the Hulkster and Hulkamania," THR reported.
No release date has been announced as the project is still in its early stages.
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