DALLAS — The casting of the Von Erich trio for A24's Von Erich family biopic The Iron Claw is complete as Jeremy Allen White has been cast to play Kerry Von Erich, as first reported by Deadline.
Kerry's two brothers -- Kevin and David -- have been cast already, with Zac Efron cast as Kevin and Harris Dickinson cast as David.
The film is being written and directed by Sean Durkin, the director of Martha Marcy May Marlene, and is being produced by A24, well known for producing such films as Uncut Gems, Ex Machina and The Green Knight.
White has gained notoriety this year starring in the critically-acclaimed FX series The Bear, and he is also known for previously co-starring on the Showtime series Shameless.
With Kevin, Kerry and Kevin all cast, that still leaves in question who will play their father, the promoter of World Class Championship Wrestling and a wrestler himself, Fritz Von Erich. The name of the film comes from his patented finishing move. There are also additional Von Erich brothers who have yet to be cast, but Kevin, Kerry and David are the best known of the brothers, selling out the Dallas Sportatorium and other arenas several times during their feud with The Fabulous Freebirds in 1983 and 1984.
Several other World Class wrestlers and managers still need to be cast as well. (Personally, we're pulling for Paul Giamatti to be cast as legendary manager Gary Hart.)
As Deadline reports, the film will follow the rise and fall of the Von Erichs and their influence on wrestling from the '60s through to the present day.
A wave of tragedy followed the fame and success of the Von Erichs. It began when Fritz's first son, Jack Adkisson Jr., died at the age of 6 after being shocked unconscious by an exposed wire and drowning in a puddle.
His later sons – Kevin, David, and Kerry – would become the three most well-known of the Von Erich sons, with Kerry even winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair at one time.
But two of them would see early deaths. David died at 25 in 1984 while wrestling in Tokyo. There are conflicting reports on what caused the death but the U.S. Embassy's death report states he died of acute enteritis. Kerry would later die, as well, in 1993 after shooting himself on his father's ranch in Van Zandt County. His suicide came after two other Von Erich children's suicides – Mike Von Erich, who took a fatal dose of tranquilizers in 1987, and Chris Von Erich, who shot himself in the head in 1991.
Kevin is the sole surviving son of Fritz Von Erich and has two sons of his own, who are wrestlers themselves to this day. His sons, Marshall and Ross Von Erich, both wrestle in Major League Wrestling, where they are former tag team champions.
There is no release date set yet for The Iron Claw.
