Let's get this out of the way: a Hulk Hogan biopic was always going to be complicated. I mean… this is Hulk Hogan we're talking about. The handlebar-mustache, feather-boa'd poster boy of 1980s pro wrestling and—let's be real here—a walking PR disaster with more scandals than suplexes.
So when Netflix announced back in 2019 that Chris Hemsworth would be stepping into the ring as the Hulkster, the reaction was… mixed. Some were intrigued. Some were confused. And some were already side-eyeing the idea of a redemption arc for a guy who went full heel in real life years ago.
Fast-forward to 2024, and the project's dead. Quietly, awkwardly, kind of like the last 10 minutes of a WWE retirement match where no one wants to say the word “retirement.”
What went wrong? Strap in.
The Rise Before the Fall… of the Movie
Let's rewind. 2019: Netflix announces an untitled Hulk Hogan biopic. Chris Hemsworth is cast. Todd Phillips—fresh off Joker—is attached to direct, and Hogan himself signs on as a producer. Scott Silver (The Fighter, Joker, 8 Mile) is writing the script. On paper? A weirdly strong creative team.
And Hemsworth? He seemed all-in. In a 2020 chat with Total Film, he called the prep for the role “insanely physical,” adding, “I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor.”
The man was ready to become a jacked blonde meme. But then… radio silence.
Until Hogan popped up on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast in 2023, and dropped this little bomb:
“They kind of missed a beat in the contract. There was a payment that wasn't placed at the right time.”
Wait, what? That's it? A payment glitch tanked a $100 million project? That's like saying your wedding got canceled because someone forgot to book the DJ.
Todd Phillips Checked Out, Hemsworth Bulked Up For Nothing
Turns out, Hogan's “business glitch” wasn't the only nail in the coffin. Todd Phillips—who once called the project “a dark, fun look at a mythic American figure”—publicly walked away in early 2024. His quote to Variety was both vague and brutally clear:
“I love what we were trying to do, but that's not going to come together for me.”
Translation: I have Joker: Folie à Deux now. I don't need this headache.
And let's be honest: Phillips leaving was the death blow. Say what you want about the man's obsession with morally gray white guys (which… yeah), but he brought heat post-Joker. Once he bounced, the project had all the momentum of a botched leg drop.
Netflix finally confirmed the cancellation last year, citing “pandemic delays” and “SAG-AFTRA strikes.” Sure. Let's blame the strikes. Classic exec move—point to the chaos, not the contract snafu or creative cold feet.
The Biopic That Never Was
Now, here's the kicker: the movie wasn't even going to touch the juicy stuff. No Gawker lawsuit. No racist tape. No lawsuits over sex tapes and flaming hot dogs.
It was set to cover Hogan's rise—the WrestleMania glory years. The oversized theatrics. The backroom politics of kayfabe. It could've been Boogie Nights in spandex. But Scott Silver's script, according to Hogan, was “very, very dark” and apparently strong enough to get Hemsworth Oscar buzz.
Which… huh. Oscar? For this? That might've been the Red Hulk talking.
Still, part of me gets it. There's something weirdly cinematic about Hogan's early stardom—the way he straddled sincerity and cartoonishness, the way Vince McMahon manufactured mythology out of real, broken men. The movie had potential. Until it didn't.
So What Now?
Well, there is another Hogan-adjacent project brewing: Killing Gawker, currently in development by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity. It's based on the lawsuit that basically killed Gawker and partially rehabbed Hogan's public image (depending on who you ask).
Affleck and Damon snagged the screenplay in 2024. No cast, no director, no date. But the name alone? Pure bait. Imagine Spotlight, but greasier.
Still no word on whether Hemsworth will ever revisit the role in some other form—but based on how this whole thing unraveled? Not likely. Man bulked up for nothing. Poor guy probably still has the bandana.
Final Bell
Look, it's not shocking Netflix dropped this. Biopics about “problematic legends” are a minefield, and Hogan isn't just problematic—he's radioactive.
But it is disappointing. Because buried underneath all the tabloid slime is a fascinating, frustrating story about American spectacle, masculine mythology, and a guy who got way too high on his own supply.
Too bad the movie won't tell it.
Or maybe it will. Eventually. Just… not on Netflix.
