Jeremy Renner Starring in Rocky Marciano Biopic

Now Jeremy Renner will endeavor to do just that by lacing up the gloves of Rocky Marciano. The two writers behind last year’s Black List script Mayday 109 are writing the Rocky Marciano biopic with Morris S. Levy producing by way of his Mega Films banner, who owns the rights to Marciano’s life story by way of his brother Lou Marciano.

Marciano is the only heavyweight champion to retire from his professional career undefeated.

Marciano passed away on the eve of his 46th birthday in 1969, when the plane he was flying in crashed in Iowa.

There have been other attempts at making Marciano’s story into a film, mostly recently a 1999 TV movie for Showtime starring Jon Favreau. Boxing movies have become something of a rite of passage for Hollywood actors.

Deadline first reported the news of the Rocky Marciano movie in a story about writers Samuel Franco and Evan Kilgore landing agency representation.

The Renner film will follow Marciano’s life from childhood to his death. His ferocious punching style earned him an impressive knockout percentage of 87.75, which, needless to say, is one of the highest in heavyweight history. Some of the notable mentions include Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw), Miles Teller (2016’s Bleed for This), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), and Edgar Ramirez (2016’s Hands of Stone).

Renner will be back on Marvel duty for Captain America: Civil War on April 29 and is part of the cast for sci-fi film Story Of Your Life, which has yet to set a release date.