Gus Van Sant in talks to helm Hulk Hogan movie; Could Ben Affleck & Matt Damon star?

According to Jeff Sneider, a Good Will Hunting reunion is in the works, and it’s probably not the project you would expect. The word is that Gus Van Sant is in talks to direct a Hulk Hogan movie focusing on the wrestler’s legal battle against Gawker, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon being eyed to star.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon acquired Charles Randolph’s screenplay for the Hulk Hogan project through their Artists Equity production banner. The project, titled Killing Gawker, is based on Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday. It is said to be in active development.

In 2012, Gawker published a short clip of a sex tape featuring Hogan, who quickly sued the company. By March 2016, Hogan was awarded $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages, leaving Gawker to file for bankruptcy three months later.

It’s important to note that Affleck and Damon are just set to produce at this time and are not attached to star. Still, rumours have been swirling that Affleck could play Hulk Hogan while Damon could play Peter Thiel, the billionaire entrepreneur who funded Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, allegedly in retaliation for Gawker outing him as gay years earlier. The potential casting feels… odd, but hell, I’d be down for it.

After writing and starring in Good Will Hunting over twenty-five years ago, Affleck and Damon appeared in a handful of movies together, but it was while writing the script for Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel (alongside Nicole Holofcener) that Damon realized they needed to prioritize working together again. “I remember my wife said to me one day: ‘I haven’t heard you laugh like that in 15 years,’” Damon said. “We came out of that experience going: Why aren’t we doing this more often? And getting into your 50s you just go: If we don’t make it a priority, it’s just not going to happen.”

Their next project is said to be RIP, a crime thriller written and directed by Joe Carnahan. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but in addition to starring in the project, they will also produce through Artists Equity. It was previously reported that shooting will get underway this fall.