An upcoming film about an aspiring combined martial artist working his means up by the UFC is ready to be directed by Zack Snyder.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Normal Leisure Authority, made the announcement Monday.
The mission, titled Brawler, is presently within the pre-production part and no launch date has been focused.
Alalshikh, who additionally owns The Ring journal and has helped facilitate a number of the greatest boxing occasions lately, will produce the film in partnership with the UFC and The Stone Quarry, Snyder’s manufacturing firm based in 2004. Alalshikh and the UFC’s chief content material officer Craig Borsari can be credited as government producers.
“They’re each very obsessed with this mission to indicate followers what it takes to develop into a UFC champion,” UFC president Dana White mentioned of Alalshikh and Snyder in a press launch. “It is an extremely formidable mission and I stay up for seeing it come to life.”
It’s unclear what function, if any, White could have within the manufacturing of the film.
Alalshikh and White not too long ago teamed as much as announce the formation of a brand new boxing group below a partnership with TKO Group Holdings, Inc., which owns the UFC, plus Alalshikh and Sela, a Saudi leisure and hospitality firm.
“WME (William Morris Endeavor) negotiated the deal on behalf of UFC,” the Brawler press launch additionally famous.
Though the UFC doesn’t usually get entangled within the film enterprise, this partnership isn’t completely shocking.
In actual fact, Alalshikh mentioned final June whereas being interviewed alongside White throughout a Combat Evening broadcast at Kingdom Enviornment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: “I wish to have a gathering with (Dana) and director, Zack Snyder. He is a pal. We wish to speak about doing an enormous film in regards to the UFC.”
Snyder can be an government producer and one of many credited writers of the mission together with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, each of whom have labored with Snyder on a number of tasks up to now.
“Behind each nice fighter is the story of how they received there,” Snyder said. “UFC is the world chief in fight sports activities and I am honored to be partnering with them to inform this unbelievable story.”
Snyder, 59, is a daily attendee at UFC occasions. He’s identified for guiding function movies reminiscent of DC Comics superhero flicks Watchmen, Man of Metal, Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice and two variations of Justice League.
The logline for Brawler reads: “Rising from the tough streets of Los Angeles, a younger fighter will get a shot at a UFC championship, battling his inside demons as he fights for redemption.”
The UFC has beforehand allowed its likeness for use in films reminiscent of 2012’s Right here Comes the Increase and 2024’s Street Home, the latter of which starred Jake Gyllenhaal and co-starred Conor McGregor. That reimagining of the Patrick Swayze cult basic used UFC branding all through and had a number of of its scenes filmed throughout a break in motion at UFC 285 in Las Vegas in March of 2023.
