Von Erich Omitted From 'The Iron Claw'

One member of the Von Erich family is completely missing from the upcoming movie about the family's tragic past, 'The Iron Claw.' 

The premiere for 'The Iron Claw' was recently held in Dallas, Texas and journalist Siddhant Adlakha has revealed that Chris Von Erich, the youngest of the Von Erich brothers, is omitted from the final product. 

"I'll have a review up eventually but it very weirdly leaves out Chris. Just skips over an entire Von Erich!" Adlakha tweeted. 

Chris Von Erich was the youngest of the Von Erich brothers. He suffered from a number of health issues, including asthma and brittle bones, which prevented him from having a successful career as a wrestler. Chris suffered from depression and issues with drugs following Mike Von Erich's suicide in 1987 and he ultimately died from suicide on September 12, 1991 at 21 years old. 

While ignoring Chris, 'The Iron Claw' focuses on Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich. Their older brother Jack, who passed away in a tragic accident at 6 years old, is also mentioned. 

'The Iron Claw' director Sean Durkin told Entertainment Weekly that Chris Von Erich was initially included in the script for the movie but he decided to remove him for narrative purposes. Chris' story and personality were instead woven into Mike Von Erich's character. 

"That was one of the toughest decisions I had to make. You could make nine hours of 'The Godfather' on this family. I didn't have that opportunity, so I had to make choices of what could fit in a movie," Durkin said.

Distributed by acclaimed production company A24, 'The Iron Claw' will be released in cinemas on December 22 and features the likes of Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. MJF also plays Lance Von Erich and has been listed as an executive producer. 

Initial reactions to the movie have been very positive.