If you happened to spend your weekend perusing new additions to Netflix, you likely would have seen Chris Hemsworth’s impossibly-chiselled jawline and Hollywood good looks appearing on the screen, all for his new flick Spiderhead. Based off the short story from George Saunders, titled Escape from Spiderhead, the film imagines a prison existing on an open-door policy, in which the incarcerated are permitted to have their sense of self, cook and work out, but have to sacrifice their brain chemistry for science. The film leaped to number one on the streaming service and it seems Hemsworth is yet another force that can’t be stopped. But when it comes to his fans, most are clambering for one film from the star: that of a Hulk Hogan biopic.
Born Terry Bollea, the wrestler became known in households around the world by his ring name, Hulk Hogan. With his blonde mullet and impossibly tanned skin that wore the kind of glossy sheen you’d come to find on the floorboards of a Luxe Listings apartment, Hogan became something of an icon. With a high-profile role in WWE and a buddying movie career, Hogan came to boast an impressive resume, including landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s April 1985 issue, where he was branded as “Pro Wrestling’s Top Banana.”
Not surprisingly, Hogan’s story is a deeply interesting one that many feel deserves to be put to the big screen in the form of a biopic. And when it comes to the actor who can play the part, we only have eyes for Hemsworth. The Aussie actor first teased news of a movie back in 2020, but little else has been revealed. Said to centre around Hogan’s rise to fame in the 1980s, Hemsworth would surely be the man to bring Hogan to life.
Sadly for fans though, the actor seems to suggest that you’d be wise not to hold your breath. According to Hemsworth who appeared with wrestling journalist Chis Van Vliet to promote his new movie Spiderhead, the biopic is quite a way off with things not exactly falling into place to see it get made. “Todd Phillips is busy doing Joker 2 I believe, and I’ve been off doing other films. It’s all in conversations and in development, and like a lot of things, a lot of things need to come together for it to happen. But I don’t have 24-inch pythons…yet.”
Given the status of other projects, it’s hard to see a biopic on Hulk Hogan being made any time soon. Just recently, Phillips announced that Joker 2 would go ahead, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as Harley Quinn, alongside Joaquin Phoenix in what is being touted as a musical take on the sequel. Meanwhile, Hemsworth has the upcoming Extraction 2 and is also working on George Miller’s Furiosa, which will see him play the lead villain in a role that promises to be something of a departure for the acting star.
Currently, Hemsworth is focused on his fourth Thor film, which also has him feeling nostalgic as he looks back on his previous entires in the franchise. “I wasn’t stoked with what I’d done in Thor 2,” he said. “I was a little disappointed in what I’d done, I didn’t think I grew the character in any way. I didn’t think I’d shown an audience something unexpected and different.”
He added, “And when Ragnarok came along, out of my own frustration over what I’d done – and this is not on any other director or anyone, this was my own performance – I really wanted to break the mould.”
Alongside Taika Waititi, Hemsworth has helped bring the character into a new direction and the results have been a huge hit with audiences around the world. Fans might not be able to see the star with bleached locks and a moustache much like Hogan, but they at least have the fourth Thor to look forward to.
