Now let us tell you somethin' brother, watcha gonna do when a new Hulk Hogan movie runs wild on you? *Ahem* We seem to have got a touch of the old Hulkamania for a moment there... apologies. But there is a new Hulk Hogan film in the works folks — and it's not the Chris Hemsworth one, either. Per Variety's reporting, the Hulkster's infamous courtroom battle against Gawker Media is getting the cinematic treatment from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's production banner Artists Equity, who've snapped up a screenplay based on Ryan Holiday's Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker And The Anatomy Of Intrigue. What's more, the duo's Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant is set to helm the project, currently titled Killing Gawker.
According to the Variety piece, The Big Short scribe Charles Randolph is handling the script for the film, which will centre around the $140 million judgment Hogan (real name Terry Gene Bollea) won against Gawker and founder Nick Denton in 2016. For those who don't know, the case revolved around a violation of Hogan's privacy by the now-defunct gossip site, whose editor A.J. Daulerio published a sex tape featuring the controversial wrestler back in 2012. A further wrinkle in the story is that Hulkster's lawsuit was funded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who'd previously been outed as gay by Gawker and set out to make them pay, quite literally, by backing Hulk Hogan's case. Suffice it to say it's not hard to see why Hogan vs Gawker is headed for the big screen.
We don't know when the film is set to release or shoot as of yet, or who will star in it. Reports and rumours all point towards Affleck getting his 'tache on to play Hogan in the movie, but at present no casting has been formally confirmed or announced. Nevertheless, the prospect of Affleck, Damon, and Van Sant teaming up on a project once again is incredibly exciting, and there's no denying that the trio have picked a hell of a story to tell together. Now, how do you like them apples?