Glen Powell to Star as Lou Gehrig in Richard Linklater's New Biopic: Everything We Know

Glen Powell is taking on one of baseball’s most iconic figures. The actor will star as Lou Gehrig in a new biopic directed by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater, marking the second collaboration between Powell and Linklater following their 2016 college baseball comedy Everybody Wants Some!!. The untitled project features a screenplay by SNL veteran Simon Rich, with legendary producer Lorne Michaels attached. Powell is coming off an incredibly busy year filming The Running Man, How to Make a Killing, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Chad Powers, so timing-wise, this marks a meaningful shift toward a deeply personal historical story.

Lou Gehrig’s legacy looms large in American sports history. Known as“the Iron Horse,”Gehrig played 2,130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees, a record that defined his era and revolutionized thinking about durability and commitment in professional baseball. He was a two-time MVP, Hall of Famer, and helped the Yankees win six World Series championships. However, his career took a tragic turn in 1939 when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS. On July 4, 1939, Gehrig delivered his iconic retirement speech, famously calling himself“the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”Those 272 words have become part of American folklore, often compared in gravitas to the Gettysburg Address.

The last major film adaptation of Lou Gehrig’s life came out in 1942, starring Gary Cooper in The Pride of the Yankees. Nearly 85 years later, Linklater’s interpretation promises to bring a fresh perspective to this enduring American story. With Simon Rich’s sharp screenwriting and Lorne Michaels’involvement, the project has serious creative firepower behind it. What aspects of Lou Gehrig’s life do you most want to see explored on screen—his record-breaking playing days, his battle with ALS, or the legacy he left behind?