A screenplay based on the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker court case that has been bouncing around Hollywood circles has picked up considerable steam and is expected to be move forward in the days ahead with some major Hollywood names involved, PWInsider.com has learned.

The word making the rounds in Hollywood is that the film, KILLING GAWKER, is currently being set up with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Artist Equity production company, eyeing a January 2025 launch.

There is talk that if/when the project goes forward, Affleck and Damon would be eyeing playing Hulk Hogan and Peter Thiel, respectively. There had long been talk of a Netflix Hulk Hogan Biopic starring Chris Hemsworth but that project has stalled and if GAWKER goes forward, it could be Affleck hitting the screen as Hogan first instead.

The screenplay for KILLING GAWKER is written by Charles Randolph, 2016 Academy Award winner for Best Adapted Screenplay for THE BIG SHORT. Randolph's screenplay is based on the February 2018 book Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday. That book chronicled the lawsuit WWE Hall of Famer Hogan filed against now-defunct website Gawker for publishing a sex tape video Hogan wasn't aware was being filmed in the moment by former friend Bubba the Love Sponge. The tape was later stolen and leaked. Thiel, the former CEO of Paypal, funded Hogan's lawsuit in secret in order to hurt Gawker, which had previously published negative stories about him. Hogan ended up winning a huge judgment and Gawker was shuttered.

The film was at one point optioned under Seth Gordon's Option A, but later lapsed.

The Hulk Hogan vs Gawker court case looks to be getting the movie treatment as sources tell Deadline that Gus Van Sant is in early talks to direct the pic Killing Gawker with Artists Equity producing. Artist Equity co-founders Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are producing but not attached to star at this time.

Artists Equity had no comment.

The film is based on a script by Charles Randolph and the book Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday. The book details the landmark 2016 court case in which Hogan won a $140 million judgment against Gawker Media, its founder Nick Denton and one of its editors.

Following the ruling, Gawker shut down operations. It would relaunch in 2021 under the ownership of Bustle Digital Group, after founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg bought the website’s assets for $1.35 million in a 2018 bankruptcy auction.

If a deal for Van Sant closes, it would reunite him with Affleck and Damon, whose careers were launched after Van Sant directed them in Good Will Hunting. The film won Damon and Affleck the Oscar for Original Screenplay.

The InSneider Newsletter was the first to report Van Sant’s involvement.