Zac Efron to lead A24's upcoming film about the Von Erich wrestling dynasty
Efron joins writer-director Sean Durkin's follow-up to his 2020 film, The Nest
Zac Efron can’t be stopped. The latest in his list of high-profile projects is A24’s new film The Iron Claw from writer-director Sean Durkin.
“Based on the true story of the Von Erichs, the film follows the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a huge impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day,” reads the film’s logline, per Deadline.
Tessa Ross, Derrin Schlesinger and Harrison Huffman are on board to produce alongside A24.
The Iron Claw will be Durkin’s third feature; he previously helmed the 2011 drama Martha Marcy May Marlene starring Elizabeth Olsen. More recently, he directed The Nest, which The A.V. Club named one of our top films of 2020. He also directed episodes of the miniseries Southcliffe and the upcoming Dead Ringers starring Rachel Weisz.
Efron, meanwhile, has been determinedly chipping away at the residual Disney Channel shine still clinging to his grown-up actor persona. He had his R-rated adult comedy phase in the mid- to late-2010s with films like Neighbors, Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates, and Baywatch; he later tried for some Serious Actor cred by playing Ted Bundy and appearing in a Harmony Korine film.
Lately, his output has been all over the map, but it’s clearly paying off. Alongside his Netflix reality series Down To Earth With Zac Efron, he’s done the “super extreme conditions” thing with Gold, starred in a Stephen King adaptation, worked on the follow-up for an Oscar winner in Peter Farrelly’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever, and got cast in a rom-com with Nicole Kidman. All that, and he still has a good relationship with Disney, as he’s set to star in its Three Men And A Baby reboot.
Yes, it’s undoubtedly a good time to be Zefron, and this collaboration with Durkin will likely be a feather in the cap of this productive and versatile era of his career.