Though she has stuck to TV since making 2008's Punisher: War Zone and 2010's Lifted, director Lexi Alexander has been tempted back to the big screen for the tragic real-life story of wrestler Chris Benoit and the biopic called Crossface.
Adapted from Matthew Randazzo's book Ring Of Hell: The Story Of Chris Benoit & The Fall Of The Pro Wrestling Industry by Jake Goldberger and Sarah Coulter, Crossface will follow what happened when world champion Benoit struggled with life even as he continued to compete. His story ended when he murdered his wife and son before committing suicide in 2007, and he was posthumously diagnosed with CTE, severe brain degeneration often seen in American Football players, which may have been caused by his career.
“I was pretty certain I’d stay in TV rather than returning to the feature world, because the material just seems so much better in TV, especially in drama, but then Crossface came my way,” Alexander said. “A heartbreaking, true story about the dark side of wrestling… I couldn’t say no to that.”
An Oscar nominee for short film Johnny Flynton, Alexander also made Green Street in 2005 and has her own fighting cred as a former world karate and kickboxing champion with a sideline in MMA expertise. More recently, she's directed episodes of Arrow, Supergirl and Limitless.