HBO
André the Giant might not be the most creative stage name in the history of professional wrestling, but it might be one of the most iconic. The 7′ 4″ Frenchman played a major role in putting what would eventually become the WWE on the map and was the first company member to cross over into the mainstream thanks to his performance in The Princess Bride— widely regarded as the second-best movie starring a professional wrestler behind John Cena’s The Marine.
Last year, HBO revealed they were giving Bill Simmons a shot at redemption after cancelling his virtually unwatched talk show Any Given Wednesday when they announced he would be producing an Andre the Giant documentary. The network previously put out a trailer promising a film in the vein of the 30 For 30 series Simmons created while working at ESPN, and with a month to go until it premieres, they’ve released a second one filled with a number of celebrities who got to know Andre over the course of his sadly shortened life.
The last trailer promised interviews with Hulk Hogan and Billy Crystal, and it appears plenty of other former coworkers and co-stars will make an appearance in the film— including Rob Reiner, Robin Wright, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s going to be hard for any of them to top the anecdotes that Ric Flair shared about Andre’s ungodly drinking abilities, but it looks like this is shaping up to be the definitive documentary about the wrestler’s life.
Andre the Giant is slated to air at 7 PM on April 10.