The Iron Claw: Zac Efron to star in a film based on the Von Erich wrestling family for A24

Zac Efron is ready to pump you up for his next feature-length film project with A24. The Gold and Baywatch actor will star in The Iron Claw, a new comedy from Sean Durkin, who directed Matha Marcy May Marlene and The Nest. Durkin will direct and write The Iron Claw, based on a true story that follows the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a massive impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day.

Tessa Ross, Derrin Schlesinger, and Harrison Huffman will produce with A24 financing. House Productions developed the film alongside Access Entertainment and BBC Film.

After starring in films like Gold and Keith Thomas’ Firestarter remake, Efron completed work on The Greatest Beer Run Ever, which tells a man’s story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting in Vietnam. Russell Crowe, Bill Murray, Kyle Allen, Jake Picking, Pedro Correa, Archie Renaux, Will Hochman, Kristin Carey, and Hal Cumpston also star. Peter Farrelly directs The Greatest Beer Run Ever, several years after helming the Academy Award-winning drama Green Book.

Sadly, the Von Erich family legacy is shrouded in misfortune, as several members of the group died by suicide or other tragic means. The Von Erich family history is so sketchy that some believe they’re cursed. Unfortunately, parental neglect, family feuds, and the dangers of the wrestling industry can be linked to the hardships of the Von Erich clan.