Zac Efron Set To Star in a New Wrestling Drama Titled THE IRON CLAW about Von Erich Family

Zac Efron has signed on to star in a new film project being produced by A24 titled The Iron Claw. The drama is being written and directed by Sean Durkin (The Nest, Martha Marcy May Marlene).

The movie will tell the true story of 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.”

I’m not really that familiar with the Von Erich family, so I looked them up on the Internet, and here’s the information I found. Their history is actually pretty sad and tragic, and due to that there is a myth of the “Von Erich curse.” Here are the details:

The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich (Jack Adkisson). Jack took on the name as part of his wrestling gimmick i.e. in ring persona as he originally portrayed a villainous (heel in wrestling terminology) German Nazi, hence using a German sounding name.

When Fritz died of cancer in his Denton County home in 1997 at the age of 68, five of his six sons had predeceased him. His firstborn, Jack Jr., was accidentally shocked and drowned in a puddle at the age of 6 in 1959, outside his Niagara Falls home. In 1984, David Von Erich died in a Tokyo hotel from enteritis at the age of 25. Mike, Chris, and Kerry all committed suicide; Mike took an overdose of Placidyl near Lewisville Lake in 1987 at the age of 23, Chris shot himself in the head with a 9mm handgun in 1991 at the age of 21, and Kerry shot himself in the chest in the family yard in 1993 at the age of 33. Kevin Von Erich is the last surviving son.

These deaths are the main basis for a widespread myth about a family curse. The term "Von Erich curse" is also used colloquially to refer to the chain of events. The origin or purpose of the curse is not generally agreed and rarely discussed. More often, the story is presented as a cautionary tale about parental influence, sibling rivalry and various dangers of the professional wrestling business.

Kevin's sons Marshall and Ross began wrestling in 2012, and Kerry's daughter Lacey wrestled from 2007 until her retirement in 2010.

This sounds like it will make a fascinating film and it’s definitely going to be a great project for Efron to take on.