Summary
- Cassandro, Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming biopic, tells the inspiring story of Saul Amerndariz, a Mexican wrestler who faced controversy as one of the first openly gay wrestlers.
- Gael Garcia Bernal leads the cast in this touching biopic that explores Cassandro’s journey from a young wrestler to an exótico who wrestled in drag.
- The film, directed by Roger Ross Williams, delves into the world of wrestling and addresses the themes of identity, acceptance, and the challenges faced by Cassandro.
The adventures of Saul Amerndariz come to life in the first trailer for Cassandro, Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming biopic, Cassandro, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, that will dive deep into the world of wrestling and one of the men that changed it. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Amerndariz spent a lot of time in Chihuahua, his family’s hometown in Mexico. There, he developed his love for wrestling. At the age of 15, he dropped out of school and started training to become a wrestler himself.
His first steps as a professional wrestler began in 1988, when he went by the name of Mister Romano, and acted as one of the heels, aka one of the villains. Later, he abandoned that role and became an exótico, which is used to describe wrestlers who perform in drag. He eventually took the name of Cassandro, the one that stayed with him forever. Amerndariz was an extremely controversial man within the world of wrestling, especially since he was one of the first openly gay wrestlers, something that was not well received back then. And that’s one of the main themes the biopic will address, as the first trailer shows:
Cassandro is directed by Roger Ross Williams, with Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Joaquín Cosío, Raúl Castillo, Mexican wrestler El Hijo del Santo, and singer Bad Bunny joining Garcia Bernal in the cast.
Cassandro is set to be release on September 22, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. In the meantime, check out this review of Cassandro from MovieWeb’s own Jericho Tadeo, who says, “A Never-Better Gael García Bernal Leads a Touching Biopic Where Camp Meets Verisimilitude.”
The Great Moments of Wrestling on the Big and Small Screen
Cassandro is not the only project that explores the world of wrestling in Hollywood nowadays. In 2021, Starz released Heels, a family drama that centers in two brothers that try to keep his family’s legacy alive by running a wrestling show, but it won’t be easy since their own relationship is broken.
Heels stars Stephen Amell, Alexander Ludwig, Alison Luff, Mary McCormack, Kelli Berglund, Allen Maldonado, Chris Bauer, Trey Tucker, Robby Ramos, Alice Barrett Mitchell, Roxton García, David James, Joel Murray, CM Punk, AJ Méndez, Josh Segarra, and Emmy Raver-Lampman. The series recently premiered its second season, with a new episode coming out this Friday.
Sean Durkin will also explore family legacy in his next film, which is set in the world of wrestling too. The Iron Claw stars Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich, Lily James as Pam Adkisson, Jeremy Allen White as Kerry Von Erich, Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich, Maura Tierney as Doris Von Erich, Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich, Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman as Lance Von Erich. They’ll be joined by Brady Pierce, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, Kevin Anton, Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Chavo Guerrero Jr, and Ryan Nemeth.
The story centers on the Von Erich family, one of the most famous wrestling dynasties that reached its peak in the 1960s, but was always surrounded by tragedy, which will be the main focus of the film. The Iron Claw will hit theaters on December 22, distributed by A24.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
