JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the genre of science fiction, there is by nature a suspension of disbelief. For instance, when Will Smith fought aliens in the movie “Independence Day,” your rational mind didn’t totally believe Smith would be able to punch out a monstrous alien.
But when you think of the wrestling legend Haku (AKA Meng), you probably think he actually has a shot.
And in the new sci-fi movie “The Unbreakable Bunch,” he takes quite a few!
NOTE: For those interested in the film, my interview with the producers starts 21 minutes into the Going Ringside episode above.
The group of wrestling legends starring in the film were all together last time in the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 1990s.
But this time, they’re not battling foes like the New World Order, Ric Flair or Goldberg. They’re taking on alien invaders.
“Pro wrestlers vs. aliens,” says another star, Ernest “The Cat” Miller. “Man, that’s like a monster movie.”
Two of the movie’s producers joined the “Going Ringside” podcast to discuss the film, which is being released in select markets on April 19 -- with many more markets to come throughout this spring and summer.
The producers -- both former WCW stars themselves -- are Luther Biggs (who wrestled as “Big Sexy” Luther Biggs) and Ray Lloyd (who wrestled in WCW as Glacier).
“We’re big fans of kind of the legendary ensemble cast films of like the 60s and 70s. Like ‘The Wild Bunch,’ ‘Magnificent Seven,’ things like that,” said Lloyd. “So that was kind of the inspiration for this story. What would happen if we put this group of pro wrestlers together and they found themselves in another world battling these aliens?”
Now the movie is complete and the trailer was just released. (Press play below for the trailer)
The two men say it’s in the spirit of 80s action movies that starred actors like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. They say it’s a movie that celebrates the pro wrestling industry rather than mocks it, which is often the case in films.
As far as the wrestlers trying out acting, the producers say it came very naturally.
“Certain people were more so than others. Larry Zbyszko was amazing,” said Biggs. “You’d think that he’d been out in Hollywood for 40 years. He did great!”
This week the movie is being released in theaters in the upper Midwest. The producers are working over the next few months to debut the film in other markets, including several in Florida. (We’ll keep you posted when the film starts playing in the Sunshine State.)
Eventually, the film will find a home on a streaming service but for now, all their focus is on the box office.
Here’s a quick list of wrestling legends who fans can expect to see in the movie:
- Haku (AKA Meng)
- Ernest “The Cat” Miller
- Diamond Dallas Page
- Larry Zbyszko
- Ray Lloyd (Glacier)
- Ron Reis (The Yeti)
- Stan Hansen
- David Heath (Gangrel)
- Missy Hyatt (in a cameo)
- Luther Biggs (Big Sexy)