Getty Kurt Warner escapes the pocket during the 2000 Super Bowl. Warner revealed an early look at his upcoming movie "American Underdog" on Wednesday.
“Destiny Belongs to the Underdogs:” Words Rams legend Kurt Warner tweeted out on Wednesday morning.
The 2000 Super Bowl champion and 2017 NFL Hall of Famer unveiled the first images and behind-the-scene look of his upcoming film “American Underdog” by Lionsgate, which details Warner’s journey from grocery store worker to Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.
Destiny belongs to the underdogs.
Here’s a first look at our movie @AmericanUnderdg by @Lionsgate Films in theaters this December! #AmericanUnderdog
Warner’s film is set for a December 10 release and stars Zachary Levi as Warner.
Warner Was Told Long Ago His Story Would End Up Going Hollywood
Watching Warner’s trek from the Hy-Vee Grocery Store to hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy was almost as if the cameras were rolling then, capturing the quintessential underdog story that captured the hearts and attention of NFL fans, plus sports fans in general.
Warner himself accepted long ago that his legend was considered Hollywood material.
“I’ve had so many people tell me ‘Your story is made for Hollywood. It’s made for the big screen,'” Warner says in the behind the scene version of the trailer released online.
Chase your dream. Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes look of American Underdog – in theaters this December.
Warner serves as executive producer of the film. His wife Brenda also serves as executive producer, saying the film touches on relationships, real life and says her husband “is a champion, but he was the same person before all this happened.”
Warner’s biopic is anticipated to follow his early football years before going down in Rams and NFL history as a legend. The early trailer shows scenes of Warner’s career in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers to him putting on the apron and stocking shelves during his grocery store worker days while trying to juggle between being a father, husband and aspiring NFL quarterback.
In one scene captured in the clip: Levi grabs a Wheaties cereal box with his hands that has Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino on the front. Levi, as Warner, stares at the box, clearly envisioning himself as the Miami Dolphin legend and thinking of his own football career.
‘We Want to Honor What They Went Through’
Along with Levi, the film stars Academy Award winner Anna Paquin, who will portray Brenda Warner.
“We want to really honor what they went through and their life experiences,” Paquin said. “It really gives people hope. He’s come from nothing, he’s tried, he’s failed, he’s picked himself back up again and eventually, he actually does succeed at getting his dream.”
Brenda Warner adds in the clip “You want those dreams that you keep striving for and it doesn’t have to look like a superstar or superhero” in further describing the premise of the movie.
Levi, who starred in the DC Comic film “Shazam!” will be playing his first sports character in his acting career.
“It’s very difficult to step into the shoes of not just an NFL quarterback, a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback who threw the football his entire life and still throws the football beautifully,” Levi said.
Dennis Quaid is another co-star. Quaid will play Warner’s head coach Dick Vermeil, who won his first and only Super Bowl with Warner as his QB. It’ll be the second time Quaid will portray a legendary football coach, as he played 1959 National Champion head coach of Syracuse Ben Schwartzwalder in the 2008 movie “The Express: The Ernie Davis Story.”
Warner, to this day, gets told how inspirational his life story is.
“I’ve heard so many people over the say that they’ve been inspired, they’ve been encouraged because of my story,” Warner said. “Everybody has their challenges and their struggles as they’re trying to chase their dream. And my story, I think, encourages people that you can actually get there.”