(Updated 10/11/2023)
Wrestling is a massive business — it's so big that the relative lack of wrestling movies is always something of a surprise. Outside the documentary world, there's THE WRESTLER and FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY, the latter of which offered Florence Pugh, then a relative unknown, her breakout role. There are probably more but it's difficult to name many.
Enter THE IRON CLAW, which tells the story of the Von Erich family, a multi-generational wrestling clan that dominated the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling organization in the 1980s. Six members of the family were wrestlers in the '80s, but the Von Erich story isn't just about life in the ring. There's tragedy at the heart of their tale.
THE IRON CLAW stars Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich and Jeremy Allen White as his brother Kerry. Efron clearly pushed himself for the role, and he's surrounded by a cast that seems to be going just as hard as he is. Check out the IRON CLAW trailer and we'll tell you more about the movie.
When Does The Iron Claw Come Out?
A24 has set a December 22 release date for THE IRON CLAW. It's a holiday gift for all wrestling and Zac Efron fans!
The First Iron Claw Trailer Is Terrific
Zac Efron with his shirt off is always a good way to open a trailer, but THE IRON CLAW makes it clear very quickly that this isn't anything like Efron's beefcake movie, BAYWATCH. You can see that the star did a lot more than put on muscle for this role — and this trailer gives us a vague idea of the difficult relationships that characterized the Von Erich family.
The Songs in The Iron Claw Trailer
We hear two classic hard rock radio songs in THE IRON CLAW trailer: "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1976, and "Tom Sawyer" by Rush, released in 1981.
The Cast of The Iron Claw
The cast is the core of this movie, and the chief reason we're excited to see it. In addition to Efron, there's Jeremy Allen White, playing his first movie role since earning a huge new fandom thanks to his lead performance in "The Bear."
The great Holt McCallany plays patriarch Fritz von Erich, with Maura Tierney appearing as his wife Doris. Harris Dickinson plays David Von Erich, Stanley Simons is Mike Von Erich, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman as Lance Von Erich. Lily James plays Pam Adkisson.
Many other classic wrestlers show up in the movie, too. Aaron Dean Eisenberg plays Ric Flair; Kevin Anton is Harley Race; Cazzey Louis Cereghino is Bruiser Brody; and Chavo Guerrero Jr. appears as The Sheik. Brady Pierce plays Michael Hayes and Ryan Nemeth is Gino Hernandez.
What Does The Iron Claw Mean, Anyway?
Fritz Von Erich's signature move is the Iron Claw hold, in which he grabs an opponent's upper face and forehead with fingers outstretched to resemble a claw. There's a lot of showmanship in the move, with Von Erich (and eventually his sons and other successors) approaching an opponent with right hand held high, fingers outstretched. It's a bird of prey kind of move, and a hold that fans love in part because of its brutal, direct simplicity.
Who Directed The Iron Claw?
THE IRON CLAW is directed by Sean Durkin, who has been quietly developing this movie for a few years. He broke out of Sundance in 2011 with the excellent movie MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, which is perhaps better known as the film debut and breakout role for Elizabeth Olsen.
Durkin scripted THE IRON CLAW, too, and photography took place in Baton Rouge, LA in 2022. Music for the movie is by Arcade Fire member Richard Reed Perry, who also did music for Durkin's second film, THE NEST. And Mátyás Erdély is this movie's cinematographer, and also a returning collaborator from Durkin's last movie.
THE IRON CLAW opens on December 22.
All images courtesy of A24.