Liev Schreiber plays the real Rocky Balboa in the first trailer for Chuck

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

If you know your Rocky Balboa lore, you'll likely know the name of Chuck Wepner, a professional boxer whose fifteen round fight with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in 1975 inspired Sylvester Stallone to pen the script for what would become ROCKY, although Stallone would deny it. Liev Schreiber takes on the lead role in CHUCK which follows Wepner through his epic life of drugs, booze, wild women, incredible highs and extraordinary lows. The film debuted at TIFF 2016 as THE BLEEDER (check out Chris Bumbray's review) and now IFC Films have released the first trailer for the upcoming sports biopic.

"You don't know me. Well, you do know me, but you don't know you know me."

Although it doesn't look as though it will break the sports biopic mold, the trailer comes across as surprisingly fun, and more of Liev Schreiber beating the crap out of people can never be a bad thing. CHUCK also stars Naomi Watts, Elisabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Rapaport, Pooch Hall and Morgan Spector. Speaking of Liev Schreiber putting fist to jaw, make sure to check out our own Chris Bumbray's review of GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS which sees Schreiber reprise his role of Ross "The Boss" Rhea.

The official synopsis for CHUCK:

Chuck is the true story of Chuck Wepner, the man who inspired the billion-dollar film series Rocky—a liquor salesman from New Jersey who went 15 rounds with the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali. In his ten years in the ring, Wepner endured two knockouts, eight broken noses, and 313 stitches. But his toughest fights were outside the ring: an epic life of drugs, booze, wild women, incredible highs and extraordinary lows.

CHUCK is set for a May 5, 2017 release.