Netflix has officially tapped Euphoria pilot director Augustine Frizzell to helm the long-developing Ronda Rousey biopic, and it’s shaping up to be a knockout behind the scenes already.
The film is based on Rousey’s bestselling memoirs My Fight/Your Fight and Our Fight, which she co-wrote with her sister Maria Burns Ortiz. Chernin Entertainment is producing, and Deadline reports that Frizzell, who is a fan of Rousey and no stranger to combat sports, was the clear choice after an impressive pitch.
“Frizzell had read both memoirs before she got the call to meet on it and knew right away this job needed to be hers,” sources say. Turns out, Frizzell not only respects Rousey’s story, she actively trains in Muay Thai herself.
What makes this project even more intriguing is how Rousey’s own journey into storytelling set it all in motion. While working with WME’s story group to study screenwriting structure, Rousey reportedly read dozens of scripts… then sat down and wrote her own in just seven days. Her agents were stunned.
According to Deadline: “The script was soon taken to market, with Chernin moving fast to land a meeting and come on as producers.”
There was a clear priority to bring on a female director for the project, and after meeting with several candidates, Frizzell quickly rose to the top. The collaboration seems like a perfect fit. Frizzell has Netflix ties already, having recently directed half the episodes of The Boroughs, the upcoming series produced by the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things).
This biopic has been a long time coming. Originally set up at Paramount in 2015 following the release of My Fight/Your Fight, the rights eventually lapsed due to studio shakeups. Netflix ultimately picked it up, with exec Michelle Evans, reportedly a longtime Rousey fan, championing the project internally.
Now, the film will draw not just from Rousey’s first memoir but also Our Fight, which dives deeper into some of the most personal and difficult chapters of her life. That includes her crushing loss to Holly Holm, her mental health struggles, early signs of head trauma before MMA, and the complexities of her relationship with coach Edmond Tarverdyan.
This is shaping up to be an interesting project.
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