WWE legend Hulk Hogan had a career and life that would be prime for a biopic, and for a while, it seemed like Chris Hemsworth would have portrayed the Hulkster before the movie ultimately fell through. Hogan spent a lot of time with Eric Bischoff in his final year, and in a recent episode of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Bischoff set the record straight about what went wrong with the aforementioned biopic, based on conversations he had with the late legend, and whether there might ever be a Hulk Hogan movie.
According to Bischoff, Todd Philips and Scott Silver were very interested in making a movie about the Hulkster’s life, and the pitch was easy to get them on board. “Hulk loved the script. I mean, loved it! Scott Silver told me it was the best script he had ever written at that point,” Bischoff said, adding that Philips was excited to make the movie too, but things changed once COVID hit the world. “That put everything behind two years… While we’re stopped down because of COVID, the clock is ticking because of Hulk’s deal. Netflix wrote a sizable deal for the option for his rights. That option was a two-year option.”
Bischoff then claimed that the delay ended up causing the deal to expire and that Netflix missed extending the deal with Hogan by 12 hours. “Hulk changed his mind, and the reason — I found out subsequently, actually recently — was Hulk really wanted to, not only reengage or further engage, but to maintain a long-term relationship with WWE,” Bischoff added. “That was what was in his best interest and the best interest of his brand, in his opinion.”
Bischoff claimed that the movie script was too edgy and Hogan ultimately decided against making it
Eric Bischoff further explained that the script for the Hulk Hogan biopic was a bit too edgy, and as much as the Hulkster loved the script, he decided against the damage it would do to his brand. “There were things in that script that certain people would not be happy to see,” Bischoff added. “The way certain people were positioned, the way stories were positioned, the perspective that was going on at the time, there would’ve been some people that may have taken exception to it.”
Bischoff also claimed that due to these potential controversies, Hogan didn’t think doing the movie was worth risking his relationship with WWE. “So, Hulk just said, you know, long-term I’m just gonna let the movie go away. Truly unfortunate, because I actually have one of the few copies of the script that exist, and it’s a great script!” he said, adding that he disagreed with Hogan’s take on people being offended and that he thinks it would’ve elevated him even further.
However, when it came to whether there will ever be a Hulk Hogan biopic, Bischoff expressed doubt. “I don’t know where Nick Hogan’s head is at, or Skye [Daily], Hulk’s now-widow, I don’t know where their heads are at on this, but it’s a rights issue and I don’t see it happening,” he said. “But maybe! You never know! Things change so fast in the moment.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “83 Weeks” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
