A biopic on Randy “Macho Man” Savage is in development, with Saturday Night Live veteran Kenan Thompson producing the movie. Savage is a professional wrestling legend, making a name for himself in the 1970s and 80s and eventually earning multiple World Heavyweight Championship titles.
Via Deadline, Thompson is producing the movie, titled Macho, alongside Johnny Ryan Jr. through their production company, Artists for Artists. The script was written by Eric Shapiro and Savage’s brother, Lanny Poffo; Poffo passed away in 2023.
Randy “Macho Man” Savage was born Randy Mario Poffo. He was the son of Angelo Poffo, who was a wrestler and wrestling promoter. However, Randy initially pursued a professional baseball career, playing in the minor leagues, until a shoulder injury put an end to that career. He then began to pursue wrestling, adopting the “Macho Man” moniker, and becoming one of the sport’s most influential figures, before passing away suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 58 in 2011.
Thompson, who has been becoming more active as a movie producer in recent years with the likes of the Paramount Plus original movie Good Burger 2 and independent movies Chapter 51 and Crossword, told Deadline:
“Beyond excited for this one!! Macho Man is hands down one of the greatest of all time and can’t wait to bring his story to the screen!!”
Savage has been the subject of various specials, but Macho marks the first time that his life story will be told for the big screen. Though Savage did famously have a cameo in Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man.
Hollywood Is Taking More On An Interest In Combat Sports
Wrestlers and other combat sport athletes are having a moment in Hollywood. With the upcoming release The Smashing Machine earning Dwayne Johnson some Oscar buzz, the well-received The Iron Claw about the Von Erich family, and the Florence Pugh-led Fighting With My Family, these athletes have proven to provide compelling stories for audiences.
Hollywood absolutely goes through periods where certain types of projects become popular. If this is indeed the moment for combat sports, Screen Rant’s Brian Gallagher has shared a number of WWE and UFC figures that could be worthy of the biopic treatment.
Our Take On The Macho Man Savage Movie
With Randy “Macho Man” Savage’s story and personality, Macho definitely has the potential to be another compelling biopic about a major wrestling figure. There should also be a colorful cast of characters with all the different wrestlers that Savage performed with.
Though perhaps my big takeaway is Thompson’s involvement as a producer. Now that Thompson has surpassed the 20 seasons of SNL goal that he previously set for himself, there are going to be questions about what is next for him once his time in Studio 8H comes to an end; not this season, however, as Thompson is returning for SNL season 51.