Sports biopics are always fascinating as adaptations, primarily because it becomes less about the sport and more about the psychology and staging.
The Damned United, for example, followed Brian Clough's war with the various egos and personalities in Elland Road whilst Any Given Sunday was akin to a Roman opera. The story of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe and their fabled battle at the finals of Wimbledon in 1980 has been ripe for a film adaptation for quite some time.
Borg / McEnroe, which is set for release in 2017, sees Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe and Swedish actor Sverir Gudnason as Bjorn Borg. Stellan Skarsgard, meanwhile, will play Borg's coach, Lennart Bergelin.
So, here's the original shot from 1980...
And here's the promo shot for the film.
Aside from the lack of logos because, it looks pretty spot-on. Granted, McEnroe was 21 at the time and LaBeouf is now 30, there's still enough of a similarity there. Not only that, LaBeouf is known for his intensity so he seems like a perfect casting. Gudnason previously starred in the original series of Wallander, but hasn't made any mainstream, English-language films of late.
He certainly does resemble Borg, so whether he can capture the same personality as him remains to be seen.
No Irish release date has been set for Borg / McEnroe.
