A release date has finally been announced for The Iron Claw film.
As announced by Variety, The Iron Claw will be nationally released just in time for the Christmas holiday, as it is set to premiere on Friday, December 22. This biographical sports film will depict the rise and fall of one of wrestling’s most famous families, the Von Erichs.
Kevin Von Erich, the last surviving member of the original Von Erich brothers, will be portrayed by Hollywood actor Zac Efron. During the production’s filming, images of Efron’s training physique surfaced. In response, Kevin Von Erich said he was impressed by Efron’s conditioning and revealed he had been in contact with the film’s director — Sean Durkin.
In addition to Efron, The Iron Claw will feature other notable actors, including Jeremy Allen White as Kerry Von Erich, Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich, and Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich. The film also incorporates some real-life professional wrestlers into the scenes. Current AEW World Champion MJF will star as Lance Von Erich, the on-screen fictional relative of the Von Erich brothers. Meanwhile, “Thrillbilly” Silas Mason of the National Wrestling Alliance portrays WWE Hall of Famer Terry Gordy.
Related: MJF Wouldn’t Do A Southern Accent In ‘The Iron Claw’ Because He Doesn’t Want To Sound Dumb
Portraying Terry Gordy
Thrillbilly Silas spoke with WrestleZone about playing Terry Gordy in the film, telling Bill Pritchard about his experience on the set.
“I get to play — did play, we already wrapped filming — but I played my favorite wrestler. The best wrestler, in my opinion, is Terry Funk. There’s levels to this, and Funk is God, brother. But Terry Gordy is my personal favorite wrestler,” Thrillbilly explained. “He’s someone I’ve always modeled my stylings in the ring after. We have similar body types; big guys that can move and put a hurtin’ on people. So that’s who I was playing.
“Zac Efron called me personally and he said, ‘Thrill, we need you.’ I said, ‘Zac, let me check my schedule. Let me see what I’ve got going on.’ Turns out I had a few free weeks in November. We went down to Baton Rouge — that’s French for you — Louisiana and we filmed the whole movie. Chavo Guerrero was the coordinator on that. He basically told us, ‘Don’t hurt these acting people too too bad.’ We still put a hurtin’ on a couple of ‘em, there’s a guy that still has to walk around with a brace on his arm but it’s a tough business, man. If you don’t want to be in it, get out. If you want to make a movie about it,” he noted, “you’re going to take some lumps too. That’s why I respect those guys that I was in there with, because they took their lumps and took it seriously.”
RELEASE: Kevin Von Erich Comments On Zac Efron’s ‘Iron Claw’ Physique
