What Happened To Chris Hemsworth's Hulk Hogan Biopic & Why Was It Canceled?

Hulk Hogan is a wrestling legend who's appeared in movies, TV shows, video games, and many other places over the decades. Despite being a figurehead of 20th century wrestling pop culture, there's yet to be a movie made about the Hulkster. Hogan has plenty of fans who'd love to see a film based on his life, and in 2019, one was given the green light: "Joker" and "The Hangover" director Todd Philips was tapped to helm the project, and Chris Hemsworth was in line to play Hogan in the biopic.

Netflix picked up the film, which was to be written by John Pollono and Scott Silver, but the project languished in development hell for several years until it was ultimately canceled. In August 2024, Philips revealed the biopic's fate in an interview with Variety, where he explained, "I love what we were trying to do, but that's not going to come together for me." Phillips only mentioned how he'd walked away from the project, but he was merely the first to go — before the month was over, the movie was killed off completely.

It was surprising that the film wasn't put into full production, given how appealing it seemed. Hemsworth joined the project in 2019, and he was clearly excited about the movie. In a 2020 interview with Total Film, Hemsworth described the need to pack on more muscle mass than he'd done to play Thor in order to match Hogan's younger physique. Unfortunately, the Hulk Hogan biopic is dead, and there's no indication that this will change anytime soon.

Because the biopic didn't find its way into production, there's not a lot of information about what the film would have covered. The logline on IMDb simply reads, "The story of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan." However, other outlets have a bit more information, including The Hollywood Reporter, which revealed some details when it published an exclusive about the project in 2019. The Tinseltown trade's senior film writer Borys Kit revealed that the film wouldn't cover Hogan's entire life, instead focusing on his rise in popularity and the birth of Hulkamania. Had the film been produced, Hogan would have acted as executive producer and consultant, which makes sense.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about casting Hemsworth to play Hogan was that the Hulkster kind of predicted that it would happen a few years earlier: He spoke with the Canadian press about who he'd like to play him, saying if a movie were to be made about him, he'd want someone like Chris Hemsworth to take on the role. The project's cancellation likely means he won't have the opportunity to do so should a biopic ever come about in the future. Getting the actor on board with his busy schedule and Hemsworth's previously stated interest in reducing his acting work after learning of his genetic propensity toward developing Alzheimer's disease will not be easy.

When news of the Hulk Hogan biopic's cancellation hit, it came shortly after the Hulkster appeared at the Republican National Convention to support Donald Trump. Some might have believed that Hogan's pro-Trump speech, which was certainly divisive, was at fault. However, Hogan's political persuasion had nothing to do with the cancellation of the biopic. The actual reason the movie was killed was due to something far more pedestrian: a contract dispute.

Hogan spoke about the film during an appearance on the PDB podcast, where he said, "They kind of missed a beat in the contract. There was a payment that wasn't placed at the right time." Hogan also praised the script, having contributed to it as a consultant, noting that he "spent about three years with this writer going back and forth. When I read it, it was just very, very dark. But it was probably what the public may want to see." Hogan also said he felt that Hemsworth could have earned himself an Academy Award for the movie.

Despite his high hopes for the project, Hogan decided to walk away, pointing the finger at Netflix's missed contract payment. "I just was moving forward at the time, and when they, business-wise, missed a date, there was an option for me to pull out, and I did." Unfortunately, without Hogan onboard, the project fell apart. He proceeded to sell the rights to his story elsewhere, eliminating the possibility for Netflix to proceed without his approval or participation, so, for the moment, the biopic is well and truly dead.

Despite the biopic's cancellation, there's still interest in developing a movie about Hulk Hogan. When news of the cancellation hit, Hogan told Canadian TV personality and YouTuber Chris Van Vliet: "My life rights and stuff are somewhere else now and there's a lot of things that are getting ready to happen. Hopefully, Todd Phillips and Chris Hemsworth will still want to play, there's still a huge opportunity there." Hogan hasn't explained where the rights are after the deal with Netflix ended, so it's unclear whether a new project is in the works somewhere else.

Another issue regarding a future biopic is Hogan's reputation, which has diminished in recent years due to several controversies. Hogan made a comment about body slamming Vice President Kamala Harris, which he later blamed on beer. That was one of many controversial comments and actions that have marred Hogan's reputation in the eyes of many: He's been called out for a racist tirade, his admission of using steroids, and undermining attempts from fellow wrestlers to start a union, among other things.

While Hogan is undoubtedly a controversial figure, that's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to Hollywood — salacious details about a public figure are kindling for a great biopic, so it's unlikely that Hogan's public problems would keep him from getting a movie made. As of November 2024, there's no information about where Hogan sent his life rights to or if any other production studio is interested in pursuing a biopic. However, it does seem like a matter of when the Hulk Hogan biopic will get made rather than if.