Actor and professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson announced earlier this week that he would be producing a biopic on one of the greatest wrestlers of all time- Ric Flair. The actor mentioned that Flair was a hero to him while he was an up-and-coming wrestler in the WWE and spoke of the type of heroic image that the Nature Boy had in his golden age.
Johnson also spoke about the personal connection he shared with Flair, as the latter and Johnson’s father Rocky Johnson fought together in the National Wrestling Alliance. While the project is still in its nascent stages, a potential lead for the role could be Dwayne Johnson’s Baywatch co-star Zac Efron The actor has proved that he is perfect for the role as he recently starred in the wrestling film The Iron Claw.
Dwayne Johnson Announced A Biopic On Legendary Wrestler Ric Flair
WWE legend Ric Flair has often been considered to be the greatest wrestler of all time due to his fifty-year career as a pro wrestler. He was officially recognized as a sixteen-time world champion by the WWE and has many championships to his name across the WWE, NWA, and WCW promotions. Flair has been under the All Elite Wrestling promotion since 2023.
Actor Dwayne Johnson recently announced that he would be producing a biopic on the legendary wrestler under his Seven Bucks Productions banner. Johnson put up an announcement video that chronicled the legend’s time in the ring on his X (formerly Twitter) profile, expressing his love for Flair.
Dwayne Johnson announced a biopic on the Nature Boy with a heartfelt message that expressed his respect for his inspiration. Johnson began his message with Ric Flair’s iconic chant, ‘Wooo’,
“As a wild kid, who grew up in the wild world of professional wrestling, I idolized, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair…And once I broke into the wrestling business and began to spill my own sweat and blood in arenas across America – my reverence for Ric turned to great respect. Because I realized just how rare and almost impossible it is to truly disrupt the wrestling business, and truly change the game – and that’s exactly what Ric Flair did.”
The actor also went on to call Flair the ‘GOAT’ and called him the ‘People’s Champ’ before announcing that he would be producing the biopic.
Zac Efron Would Be Perfect To Play Ric Flair In His Biopic
Dwayne Johnson will be producing the Ric Flair biopic through his Seven Bucks Productions banner along with Kevin Misher, known for producing the film Fighting with My Family. According to The Wrap, Dwayne Johnson is also starring in another biopic based on MMA fighter Mark Kerr, that will be produced by A24 and will be directed by Ben Safdie.
Though no one is attached to the Ric Flair biopic as an actor yet, The Iron Claw star Zac Efron may just be the perfect fit for the film. Efron has worked with Johnson as a co-star in the action comedy Baywatch and has recently explored his dramatic side in films such as Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile and Gold.
Efron’s work in the recent A24 film The Iron Claw has been lauded as the actor’s best performance in his career. The actor played real-life wrestler, Kevin Von Elrich of the Von Elrich wrestling family. The film directed by Sean Durkin was universally acclaimed and was included in many ‘best-of’ lists of the year.
Efron reportedly underwent a huge transformation for the role and trained in professional wrestling for the role. He said to Deadline,
“In training for this, I got to train essentially for my championship, my belt match. It all came down to, how precise is my training?… I think I shed a skin somewhere in those seven months when Kevin was really at the wheel. It felt honest, it felt real. I felt like I was physically there; I felt mentally there, as a direct result of the training, and then from there, the wrestling, surprisingly, was fun.”
Zac Efron’s intense commitment to the role and his experience in performing in a similar role makes him a perfect choice for a Ric Flair biopic.
