A24 has released the first trailer for The Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. The Iron Claw is the highly anticipated drama about the legendary wrestling Von Erich family. Directed and written by Sean Durkin, the film chronicles how the Von Erich brothers rose to fame in the competitive world of pro wrestling, but faced tragedy inside and outside the ring.
Five of the six Von Erich brothers pursued professional wrestling: the eldest brother Jack died in a childhood accident and Efron stars as the oldest surviving brother, Kevin, with White portraying Kerry Von Erich. Each of the Von Erich brothers found fame as they pursued pro wrestling, but their lives were also marked by tragedy, sparking rumors that the family was afflicted by the “Von Erich curse.” Efron’s Kevin says in the trailer: “Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed. Mom tried to protect us with God. Pop tried to protect us with wrestling. He said if we were the toughest, strongest, nothing would ever hurt us. I believed it. We all did.”
The cast also includes Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich, and Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich, and Lily James as Kevin’s wife, Pam. Maura Tierney plays the boys’ mother Doris, while Holt McCallany appears as their father Fritz, who built his own wrestling career in the 1960s and pushed his sons to follow in his footsteps. The elder Von Erich popularized the family’s signature move: ‘The Iron Claw,’ where a wrestler grips his opponent’s face and squeezes with all five fingers.
The Iron Claw hits theaters Dec. 22; watch the trailer – here.
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