A biopic about Elon Musk has been announced, as fans are debating which actor could play the billionaire tech mogul in Darren Aronofsky’s forthcoming film.
The movie will be based on Walter Isaacson’s recent 615-page biography of the Space X founder, covering everything from his early life and childhood in South Africa to his tumultuous romances, and his controversial takeover of Twitter, now known as X.
Independent studio A24 acquired the rights to Isaacson’s book after a “heated” bidding war, with Oscar-nominated director Aronofsky – best known for The Whale and Black Swan – set to steer the project, according to a Variety report.
Acclaimed American journalist, Isaacson’s biography about Steve Jobs was also adapted for screen in 2015, with Michael Fassbender playing the late Apple founder.
While it has not been announced which actor will be cast as Musk, 52, in Aronofsky’s film yet, several fans believe the part should go to Canadian actor Kevin Durand, who has starred in films and series including The Strain,The Butterfly Effect, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
“I know this guy, Kevin Durand’s agent is having a panic attack right now making calls,” one person quipped on X, reacting to the news about the Musk biopic – first reported by Puck.
“Kevin Durand was born for this role,” another fan comment read, alongside a picture of Durand to highlight the physical similarities between him and Musk.
Responding to a question about which actor is best suited to play Musk, another person said: “Clearly, it’s Kevin Durand.”
Although news that a Musk biopic is officially underway has re-upped fan suggestions that Durand, 49, should be given the role, comparisons between the two men have been circulating on social media platforms for a while.
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“Petition for Kevin Durand to play Elon Musk in a biopic,” a tweet from 2021 read.
“Kevin Durand needs to play Elon Musk in a movie,” someone else wrote in 2020. The same year, another comment read: “Just musing about the future. My top prediction today: a biopic about Elon Musk, starring Kevin Durand as Elon…. remember, you heard it here first… ;)”
Several people have also light-heartedly floated the “conspiracy theory” that Musk and Durand are, in fact, the same person.
“I am convinved Kevin Durand and Elon Musk are clones,” one such comment, from 2016, read.
The world’s richest person, Musk is the chief executive of SpaceX as well as chairman and chief technology officer at X Corp, previously known as Twitter. He is also the CEO of electric car company Tesla, which he co-founded in 2002. However, Musk was forced to resign as its chairman in 2018 to settle securities fraud charges over misleading social media posts.
His net worth is estimated at $223.8bn (£183.2bn).
According to Isaacson’s book, Musk’s personal life is less successful; the author describes his father, Errol Musk, as “an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist who to this day bedevils Elon”.
Elsewhere, he writes that “Musk was not bred for domestic tranquility”, adding that most of his relationships “involve psychological turmoil”.
The film announcement comes one day after the longest actors’ strike in history came to an end, with the SAG-AFTRA union revealing they had reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios.
The deal has jumpstarted several stalled film and TV productions, effectively reviving the world’s biggest industry.
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