The Iron Claw Trailer Is Here, and It Has Fans Thinking Zac Efron Should Play He-Man
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The first trailer for A24’s The Iron Claw is here, starring Zac Efron as wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich, and people can’t get enough of his transformation into the bulked-up, bowl-cut brawler.
Written and directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw follows the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, Fritz Von Erich, the famed three-time world champion.
“Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed. Mum tried to protect us with God. Pop tried to protect us with wrestling,” Efron’s character says in a voiceover, teasing the rise of the family dynasty. “He said if we were the toughest, the strongest, nothing could ever hurt us. I believed him; we all did.”
Efron plays Kevin Von Erich, while Jeremy Allen White portrays Kerry Von Erich alongside Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich. The trailer gave us our first proper look at the three brothers in action, prompting people to share their opinions on social media, with lots of praise and even a spot of fan-casting for Efron. Thanks to the haircut and muscles, plenty of fans are seeing He-Man similiarities.
the zac efron renaissance is finally upon us https://t.co/hRFTmh4nqL pic.twitter.com/zCt6W0jeAm
— sil 🫧 (@wickedsilvia) October 11, 2023
idk about you but I think Zac Efron turning out to be a perfectly legitimate actor is pretty awesome pic.twitter.com/npT8exAQkV
— Eric Italiano (@eric_ital) October 11, 2023
Academy Award nominee Zac Efron 👀 https://t.co/qIv5h4cOoa
— Daniel Minhuey (@Daniel_Hans) October 11, 2023
Hey Hollywood if you ever wanted to do a New He-man Masters of the Universe Movie. Nows Your chance with Zac Efron JACKed Up like he is in The Iron Claw pic.twitter.com/SuM6r2XOM3
— 💀Jax🎃 (@JaxBladeFitness) October 11, 2023
If The Iron Claw trailer shows us anything, it’s that Zac Efron would make a pretty good live-action He-Man in a Masters Of The Universe movie. pic.twitter.com/RUj14bzhG1
— Movies In Focus (@moviesinfocus) October 11, 2023
Fuck yeah, this looks great. And also Zac Efron would be my choice to play MCU Wolverine when they reboot X-Men in a couple years. I thought he was too much of a pretty boy before, but dude is a fire hydrant. And it’s actually believable Jean Grey would go for him. https://t.co/nSnXmAU3zs
— Hal Haney (@HalHaneyArt) October 11, 2023
Also appearing in the film are Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich, Holt McCallany as the Von Erich family patriarch Fritz, Maura Tierney as matriarch Doris, and Lily James as Pam, the wife of Efron’s Kevin. Aaron Dean Eisenberg features as the legendary wrestler Ric Flair, one of the wrestling family’s ring rivals.
The Iron Claw is one of the big upcoming releases on the 2023 theatrical calendar. The film is coming out on December 22 – the same month as the Timothée Chalamet-led Wonka, DC’s long-awaited Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Michael Mann’s sports biopic Ferrari, which had its premiere at Venice Film Festival.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X @AdeleAnkers.
