The against-all-odds story of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner will soon be a faith-based movie.
American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story will be directed by Jon and Andrew Erwin and released by Lionsgate. Kingdom Story Company is making it. A release date has not been set, although the movie is in pre-production.
The Erwins also directed I Still Believe, I Can Only Imagine and Woodlawn.
Warner’s story seemingly was made for a Hollywood film: He was working at a Hy-Vee grocery store in the 1990s when he won a job as quarterback for an Arena Football League team, the Iowa Barnstormers. He was so impressive that he eventually was signed by the St. Louis Rams, which he guided to two Super Bowls, winning it in 2000 (the 1999 season).
He’s also an outspoken Christian.
Zachary Levi (Shazam!) will play Warner, according to Deadline. Mark Ciardi, Kevin Downes and Kurt and Brenda Warner will co-produce it.
Jon Erwin called the story “incredible.”
“It's one of the greatest underdog stories I've ever heard,” Erwin told Christian Headlines. “And the story behind the story – the story that people don't know – is even stronger. Kurt and Brenda are amazing friends. They're amazing partners. That movie is going to be extraordinary. It's like Jerry Maguire meets Rocky – from the supermarket to the Super Bowl.”
Warner played college football at Northern Iowa and completed his senior season in 1993.
“He was out of football for several years, playing Arena on the weekends and stocking shelves,” Andrew Erwin told Christian Headlines. “He married a single mom who had two kids – one with special needs. He got one last shot [in the NFL] to fight for his family and made it all the way to the Super Bowl.”
Warner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Kingdom Story also is in pre-production on another film, Jesus Revolution.
Related:
Jesus Revolution Film to Star Jim Gaffigan as Chuck Smith, Joel Courtney as Greg Laurie
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Scott Halleran/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
