EXCLUSIVE: After hitting a home run with a photo of college baseball in 2016 Everyone wants some!, Glen Powell and Richard Linklater are set to re-team Lou Gehrig’s untitled film at Universal. Powell will play the iconic New York Yankee, with Linklater directing and Simon Rich writing.
Lifelong Yankees fan Lorne Michaels will produce the film alongside Erin David as part of Broadway Video’s deal with Universal. Powell will produce the film alongside Dan Cohen as part of Barnstorm’s first-look deal with the studio. Linklater is in talks to produce through Detour Filmproduction.
Considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Gehrig is one of the most revered sports figures of the 20th century due in large part to his endurance, which earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse.” The seven-time All-Star played a record 2,130 consecutive games, a mark thought unattainable until Baltimore’s Cal Ripken surpassed it in 1998.
The first baseman played his entire 17-year career with the Yankees, winning six World Series titles, including as a member of the 1927 Yankees team considered by many to be the greatest ever assembled. He won the Triple Crown in 1934, hitting .363 with 49 home runs and 166 RBIs.
Gehrig’s playing streak and career came to an abrupt end in 1939 when he was diagnosed with what would eventually become known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neuromuscular disease now commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease. He died in 1941 at the age of 37.
Gehrig’s story is beloved by Hollywood, but somehow it has only been told once, in the classic 1942 drama. Pride of the Yankeeswhich starred Hall of Famer Gary Cooper. It included Gehrig’s landmark retirement speech at Yankee Stadium during his last public appearance (“You’ve been reading about a bad turn for the last two weeks,” Gehrig told the Yankee faithful. “However, today I consider myself the happiest man in the world.”)
It’s unknown what will be featured in the new film, but sources say one of Gehrig’s teammates expected to play a major role in the film is Babe Dahlgren, the man tasked with replacing Gehrig at first base. There’s no production start date yet, but Powell plans to take a break after working nonstop for the past year-plus. Expect every young actor in town to be chasing the role of Dahlgren given the star power inherent to the project.
Powell is an avid sports fan (especially when it comes to his Texas Longhorns), so Gehrig’s project falls right into his wheelhouse just as he wraps production on the second season of the Hulu football series. Chad Powers.
Powell and Linklater most recently worked together on the 2024 Netflix comedy. killerand when this project came to the couple, it seemed like the perfect picture for a reunion.
Senior Executive Vice President of Production Development Eric Byers will oversee the project for Universal.
Powell’s relationship with Universal began with his starring role in Twisterswhich exceeded expectations in 2024 to become the biggest opening for a disaster film at the domestic box office; Overall, it grossed $267.8 million in the US and Canada.
Barnstorm also produces Comeback Kingwhich Universal will release in theaters on February 5, 2027. Powell also has a photo of JJ Abrams. Great Beyond bowing autumn 2027.
Rich most recently wrote a feature film directed by Luca Guadagnino. Artificial. The film, starring Andrew Garfield as OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, recently appeared on Neon and is slated for release this year. He also wrote American cucumberstarring Seth Rogen and was a staff writer at Pixar. His accomplishments include Saturday Night Live And The Simpsonsand he is the creator of the series Man looking for woman And Miracle Workers.
Powell is repped by CAA, The Initiative Group and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Linklater is repped by CAA and Cinetic Media. Rich is repped by CAA and Eastman and Eastman.