Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Iron Claw and mentions of suicide.
The Von Erich family is at the center of The Iron Claw, and while the movie does its best to honor the prestigious wrestling dynasty, the director and writer had to make some changes to their tale for the sake of drama and storytelling. The 2023 biographical sports drama film tells the story of the Von Erichs — a notorious family of professional wrestlers whose careers span from the father’s debut in the 1950s to today. But the movie only covers a few decades in between, when numerous tragedies befell the family.
The cast of The Iron Claw features Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich, Jeremy Allen White as Kerry Von Erich, Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich, Maura Tierney as Doris Von Erich, Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich, and Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich. Other characters include significant others, opponents in the ring, a fake Von Erich, and many others. However, director and writer Sean Durkin was forced to alter the Von Erichs’ story by removing significant figures, changing the genders of some characters, speeding up life-changing events in the family’s lives, and more.
8 The Iron Claw Leaves Out The Sixth Von Erich Brother
One of the most significant changes the filmmakers behind A24’s The Iron Claw had to make was removing a Von Erich brother from the movie. In real life, Fritz and Doris Von Erich had six sons — Jack Barton Jr., Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris. Jack Barton Jr. died after an accidental electrocution and drowning when he was six years old in 1959, so he doesn’t play a big role in the film. On the other hand, Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike are all thrust into the spotlight on the big screen, while Chris is nowhere to be found. Sean Durkin completely removed him from the story, and he later explained why he chose not to include Chris.
Chris was a wrestler like the rest of his brothers, but he struggled with the pressure to live up to his family’s legacy, especially because he had asthma and brittle bone syndrome, which made it difficult to succeed in the sport. Chris died by suicide at the age of 21 in 1991, and Durkin felt as if the movie couldn’t handle another death. The director and writer told the Los Angeles Times, “There was a repetition to it, and it was one more tragedy that the film couldn’t really withstand.” Unfortunately, Durkin had to make the hard choice to leave Chris out of The Iron Claw, but he did add some elements of his life to Mike’s character.
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7 Kevin’s First Two Children Were Daughters
Whereas The Iron Claw depicts Kevin and his wife Pamela as having two boys, the couple had two girls first in real life. Pamela gave birth to their daughter, Kristen Rain, in 1981 and their second daughter, Jillian Lindsey, in 1985. Kevin and Pamela later had two sons — David “Ross” and Kevin “Marshall,” in 1988 and 1992, but they had their two girls first. The 2023 biographical sports drama may have changed this fact about Kevin’s life because his two boys grew up to be professional wrestlers like their father. However, it was most likely a narrative choice so that his boys could parallel the Von Erich brothers at the film’s end.
6 David Never Sent Kevin A Postcard From Japan
Following David’s death in The Iron Claw, Kevin receives a postcard from his brother that he sent from Japan before he tragically died from acute enteritis (even though his cause of death is still a debated topic today). In real life, Kevin never posthumously got a postcard from David that read, “I miss you, brother.” The director and writer explained this change to the Von Erichs’ story during an interview with USA Today. He said, “The idea of David not having a note but having something written to create the symmetry between the brothers felt important.”
5 Kerry’s Accident Happened In 1986
The Iron Claw fast-tracked Kerry’s horrific motorcycle accident a couple of years for storytelling purposes and dramatic effect. In the film, Kerry gets into an accident and loses his right foot in 1984, even though it happened in 1986 in real life. They sped up the timeline so that the tragedy could take place the same year that David died, quickly following the wrestling match between Kerry and Ric Flair. David was supposed to fight Flair, but after his death, Kerry stepped in and took his late brother’s place. Kerry won, and in the movie, lost his foot one day later. In reality, the accident occurred two years later.
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4 Kerry’s Marriage Is Downplayed
The Iron Claw skims over Kerry’s marriage to Catherine, even though they were married for nine years and had two daughters. Catherine is a fragment of Kerry’s storyline in the 2023 film, but in real life, their relationship was a significant time in the wrestler’s life. After nine years of marriage, Kerry and Catherine divorced in 1992, which was one year before he died by suicide. The movie also semi-inaccurately depicts Kerry’s life because it completely removes his two daughters — Hollie and Lacey — from the narrative. Lacey went on to become a professional wrestler for three years in the late 2000s before retiring.
3 Doris & Fritz Separated Before Kerry Died
The biographical sports drama features the cracks in Doris and Fritz’s marriage, eventually leading to divorce. However, the couple separated a year before their son Kerry’s death in real life, while Doris didn’t leave Fritz until after Kerry died at the end of The Iron Claw. Sean Durkin undoubtedly made this change to the Von Erich family’s story for dramatic purposes, but it is still a significant inaccuracy in the movie.
2 Kevin Didn’t Find Kerry When He Died
One of the biggest changes the filmmakers made to the wrestling dynasty’s tale was who found Kerry shortly following his death. In The Iron Claw, Kevin found his brother, but in reality, it was Fritz. The director and writer’s choice to have Kevin find Kerry instead of Fritz was likely to continue the narrative of Kevin being the main character. While the movie depicted (almost) every Von Erich family member, the story undoubtedly centered around Zac Efron’s character and his career and relationship with his family.
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1 The Iron Claw Doesn’t Depict David’s Daughter’s Death
One of the final significant changes to the Von Erich family’s life story in the 2023 film was removing David’s infant daughter’s death. The movie already contained so much tragedy (supposedly due to the Von Erich curse), so it’s not too surprising that it didn’t feature another death. In real life, David and his wife Candy had a daughter named Natosha, who died of SIDS at 13 weeks old. The couple divorced shortly following the devastating loss, and five years later, David was found dead in Japan, as depicted in The Iron Claw.
