A wrestling legend producing a biopic about another wrestling legend? Dwayne Johnson is producing a film about Ric Flair called The Nature Boy.
Professional wrestling is a bit weird. From the overblown pageantry to the predetermined outcomes, it’s certainly unique, especially when you figure in the dark underbelly the strange hybrid of sport and entertainment possesses.
You may have seen in the news of late that Vince McMahon, the longtime billionaire owner of the WWE being the subject of intense media scrutiny having being accused of some particularly abominable behaviour. That may only be the tip of the iceberg, too.
The dark side of wrestling was previously explored in Barry Blaustein’s 1999 documentary, Beyond The Mat. In more recent years though, dramas such as Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler and this year’s The Iron Claw have explored the human cost of wrestling.
As well as being one of the world’s biggest movie stars, Dwayne Johnson was (and still is) a professional wrestler, so who better to bring to life a biopic of perhaps the most legendary in-ring performer of all time? Johnson has announced that his Seven Bucks production company will be producing a biopic of Ric Flair, ‘The Nature Boy.’
Flair himself revealed that a biopic of his life was in the works in 2020, but it may have been the recent, positive critical reception to Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw that pushed things over the line and sparked Johnson’s involvement. The acclaimed drama comes to us courtesy of A24, a studio which Johnson is already involved with. The actor will be collaborating with A24 and Benny Safdie to make The Smashing Machine, a film about UFC champion, Mark Kerr.
In 2019, Johnson also starred in and co-produced another wrestling biopic of a lighter sort – writer-director-actor Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family. It’s a charming little film if you haven’t seen it yet.
Johnson has been open about his desire to challenge himself lately, and we hope this extends to the production of this Ric Flair biopic. If there’s one Hollywood trend that’s growing tiresome, it’s anodyne biopics, so Johnson’s claim that he wants to make things that are ‘raw and real’ would certainly be a welcome. Ric Flair’s life certainly possesses the potential for such a story. He achieved plenty of glory as an iconic wrestler, but was haunted by tragedy, too.
Johnson revealed the project on X, and as of yet, we know little else about it. When we do learn more though, you can be sure we’ll let you know.
Podcast: The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) and Fighting With My Family (2013)
