He was a giant in life, conquering professional wrestling and playing a featured role in The Princess Bride. In death, he became the face of Shepard Fairey”s “Obey” street art. Now it looks like Andre “The Giant” Roussimoff may see his story turned into a biopic.
Variety is reporting that Lion Forge Comics along with producers Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell are looking to tell the full tale behind all 7″4” and 500 pounds of Roussimoff – dubbed “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” The project is based on the graphic novel Andre the Giant: Closer to Heaven, written by Brandon Easton.
“Andre the Giant rode the wave of the rise of wrestling in America, while suffering from the painful health condition of gigantism – there”s an Elephant Man story here,” Steindorff said.
“His presence and charisma were so powerful, and you could tell there was much more to him under the surface of his ring persona,” added Lion Forge CEO David Steward II.
Of course there”s an inherent challenge of doing a story about someone of this size – who will play him? But that”s for producers to figure out. Our money is on Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane) from Game of Thrones.
While it could be some time until this film hits theaters, A&E did a biography of Andre the Giant a number of years ago. Here”s that link.