Ben Affleck will reportedly star as Hulk Hogan in “Killing Gawker.”
The film will follow the lawsuit between Hulk Hogan and website Gawker after they published a sex tape video that Hogan wasn't aware was being filmed.
Word is that Affleck would be playing Hogan and Damon would be portraying PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Oscar-winner Chris Randolph (“The Big Short”) wrote the screenplay which is based on Ryan Holiday’s 2018 book Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue.
If the blueprint from that book were to be the same, then “Killing Gawker” would chronicle the lawsuit Hogan filed against now-defunct website Gawker for publishing a sex tape video Hogan wasn't aware his former friend, Bubba the Love Sponge, was filming. The tape was later stolen and leaked.
Thiel funded Hogan's lawsuit in secret in order to hurt Gawker, which had previously published negative stories about him. Hogan ended up winning his case and Gawker was told to pay him $140M in damages, which led to the media outlet filing for bankruptcy and folding as a company.
As far as we know, no director is currently attached to helm “Killing Gawker.” They are eyeing a January 2025 production start.