'The Iron Claw' Trailer: Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White Set New Pro Wrestling Movie

A highly-anticipated professional wrestling movie is getting ready to be released and features an all-star cast. A24 released the official trailer for The Iron Claw, and the film stars Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. The movie tells the story of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of pro wrestlers that had a lot of success starting in the 1980s. The Iron Claw will hit theatres on Dec. 22. 

"The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s," the official synopsis states. "Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports."

Efron and White star in the film along with Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany and Lily James. The Iron Claw is directed and written by Sean Durkin who also directed the 2020 film The Nest. Efron plays Kevin Von Erich who won the world championship while competing in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). In an interview with Fightful last year, Von Erich talked about how confident his in The Iron Claw despite not knowing much about it. 

"My sons went down there and they did some stunt work for the wrestling part of it, but I have no idea what they're gonna say," he said. "It turns out, Sean Durkin called me and I got a feeling it's going to be a really good movie. When the boys went down there to shoot this scene, which was in Louisiana, they have built their own sportatorium. They built their own, it's an exact replica of the sportatorium. They've really gone all in on this and when my boys went down there, Kerry [Von Erich's] daughter was also down there and she's a friend with Sean Durkin too."

The Von Erich family was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. The patriarch of the family was Fritz Von Erich who died in 1997. Kevin Von Erich is the second oldest and last surviving son of Fritz. Kerry Von Erich is played by White in the movie and died by suicide in 1993. Maxwell Jacob Friedman, the reigning All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Champion, appears in The Iron Claw and plays Lance Von Erich who is a fictional relative of the family.