The Iron Claw by Lionsgate and A24 unfolds the narrative chronicling the lives of Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich, in addition to their parents. However, does this mean there are only four Von Erich brothers?
Fitz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) continued his wrestling legacy with his sons – hoping to make the Von Erichs a household wrestling name. Above all, he wanted his sons to get the title opportunities he never got. But his iron claw grip on them intensified the lore behind the Von Erich curse.
The Iron Claw introduces four Von Erich brothers. The oldest is Kevin (Zac Efron) followed by David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Mike (Stanley Simons.)
Nothing but pure love existed among the brothers, but fans may be surprised that there’s more to the Von Erich story. Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike were not the only Von Erichs.
The Iron Claw purposely left out one brother
In total, there were six Von Erich brothers. The Iron Claw director Sean Durkin decided to omit the story of Chris Von Erich.
While Kevin appears to be the oldest big brother, he really isn’t. He’s the second-born son to Fritz and his wife. Jack Adkisson Jr. was the eldest born in 1952 and died at the age of six due to an accident. In 1959 in Niagara Falls, Jack stepped on a trailer tongue that electrocuted him. He fell face-first into a puddle and drowned. The Iron Claw opens with a flashback of Fitz as a wrestler and his two sons – Jack and Kevin.
Later in the movie, Kevin tells Pam he’s not the oldest and how one day Jack wasn’t there to play with. Kevin was born in 1957 and became a big brother to his other siblings after Jack’s death.
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David Von Erich was born on July 22, 1958 – only a year after Kevin. Kerry was born a few years later on February 3, 1960, in Niagara Falls, New York. In Texas, Fritz and his wife had their fifth son Michael on March 2, 1964.
While The Iron Claw focuses on the four main brothers, there is another that was omitted. Chris Von Erich was the last and youngest brother. He was also born in Texas on September 30, 1969.
According to Entertainment Weekly, director Sean Durkin originally included Chris in the movie’s script. He decided for narrative purposes to cut him out and focus more intently on the three brothers.
“That was one of the toughest decisions I had to make,” he said. “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 explained he instead wove aspects of Chris into Mike as they were both the younger brothers among muscled adonis-like older brothers.
Read more TV & Movies content here, and Dexerto’s review of The Iron Claw here.
