Vince McMahon has long been one of the most fascinating as well as controversial people in the world of professional wrestling, and as such, a movie chronicling his life would have major box office appeal.
One such film was reportedly in progress under directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. Named Pandemonium, the project first began making headlines in 2017 when it was rumored that Bradley Cooper was offered the role of Vince McMahon.
However, no news has emerged on the project in quite some time, and in a new interview with SlashFilm, the two directors confirm that the project won’t be moving forward. Furthermore, it was McMahon himself who killed the film, which was never going to be made without the involvement of WWE Studios.
Glenn Ficarra spoke first, confirming the movie’s demise:
“Pandemonium is dead, sadly.”
Co-director John Requa confirmed the news, adding:
“Vince killed it.”
Continuing, Requa explained that their situation was one they’d never faced in their directorial careers, saying they’re on a list of people who’ve been “f****” by Vince McMahon.
“We have never in our career had the studio, we had an actor, everybody was just like, ‘Let’s make this movie,’ and Vince said, ‘We’re not making it.’
“So, yeah, we are on a very long list of people who got f***ed over by Vince.”
Vince McMahon Is Mired In Controversy
Vince McMahon shocked the world in July of 2022 when he announced that he was retiring from all duties within WWE. In the wake of his retirement, his daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named co-CEO’s of the company, while Triple H now serves as head of both talent relations and creative as Chief Content Officer.
McMahon’s announcement came amidst an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and hush money payments, an investigation that cost the company millions.
However, despite the severity of the allegations against him and the Board of Directors rejecting his request to come back in December, McMahon announced in early January that as majority shareholder, he was electing himself back to the WWE Board of Directors in order to facilitate a sale of the company. Days later, Stephanie McMahon handed in her resignation and Vince was unanimously elected Executive Chairman of the Board.
His return has prompted multiple lawsuits from plaintiffs alleging he was not acting in the best interest of WWE shareholders.
Despite having no official role within the company in a creative role, McMahon was recently seen backstage at Monday Night Raw on March 6th. That show featured the return of John Cena ahead of his planned match with Austin Theory at WrestleMania, and that was said to be one of the reasons he was backstage, though one report stated there’s more to the story.