The Fire Inside (film)
The Fire Inside is a 2024 American biographical sports film by Rachel Morrison in her feature directorial debut. The film is about the early boxing career of Claressa "T-Rex" Shields, a fighter from Flint, Michigan, including her competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Ryan Destiny stars as Shields, alongside Brian Tyree Henry and Adam Clark.
Originally titled Flint Strong during development, The Fire Inside premiered in the Special Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024, and was released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios on December 25, 2024 to positive reviews but was a box office bomb, grossing only $8.1 million on a $12 million budget.
Plot
Claressa “T‑Rex” Shields, a determined teenager from Flint, Michigan, refuses to be confined by the chaos of her upbringing. When she walks into the boys‑only boxing gym of former pro Jason Crutchfield, she demands a chance to train. Despite the gym’s rough environment and Crutchfield’s reluctance, he eventually accepts her, setting her on an athletic journey that begins as survival and becomes hope.Under Crutchfield’s tough‑love mentorship, Claressa develops into a fierce competitor. As she moves through local and national amateur ranks, she confronts personal turmoil—poverty, unreliable family support, and the trauma of her childhood in a declining Flint. Despite these obstacles, she earns a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 London Games.
At 17 years old, Shields shocks the boxing world by becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in boxing, defeating top international opponents to secure her place in history. But despite her victory, Claressa returns home to financial insecurity, lack of endorsement opportunities, and systemic neglect, especially when male athletes from her Olympic class surge into multimillion‑dollar fame, while she struggles to survive and is even tempted to pawn her medal to support her family.
The film concludes without a traditional Hollywood ending. The gold medal represents one battle, but the broader war is only beginning. Shields’ journey continues beyond the page, as she remains a champion in the ring and a trailblazer for women’s sport.
Cast
- Ryan Destiny as Claressa "T-Rex" Shields
- Brian Tyree Henry as Jason Crutchfield
- Oluniké Adeliyi as Jackie Shields
- De'Adre Aziza as Mickey
- Adam Clark as Clarence
Production
The Fire Inside had a lengthy development and production history, including encountering multiple delays along the way.On October 7, 2016, Universal Pictures hired Barry Jenkins to adapt the 2015 documentary T-Rex, about boxer Claressa Shields, for the big screen, with the possibility to direct the new film. On June 19, 2019, Rachel Morrison was set to make her directorial debut on the film, which was to be titled Flint Strong; Jenkins would produce with Michael De Luca and Elishia Holmes, while Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper, who worked on T-Rex, would serve as executive producers.
On November 13, 2019, Ryan Destiny was cast as Claressa "T-Rex" Shields. On February 5, 2020, Ice Cube was cast as Shields' coach, Jason Crutchfield. Judy Greer was added on May 14 but for unknown reasons did not appear in the film. However, on October 29, 2021, it was reported that Cube had left the project after refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to film Oh Hell No for Columbia Pictures, putting the film in turnaround.
Principal photography began at Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto on March 11, 2020, but on March 13, production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with The Guardian, Shields stated that production on Flint Strong was set to resume in June 2021. However, the project entered another long delay due to being offloaded by Universal. It would be picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and on May 25, 2022, Brian Tyree Henry joined the cast to replace Ice Cube, and Oluniké Adeliyi joined to play Shields' mother, with filming resuming later that month. On July 6, 2022, De'Adre Aziza joined the cast as Mickey, Crutchfield's wife. In July 2022, filming took place in Hamilton, Ontario, where the FirstOntario Centre was used as an Olympic boxing venue. In March 2024, it was announced that the project had been renamed from Flint Strong to The Fire Inside, which ultimately would be the final title that the film was released under.
The movie had an error where Savanah Marshall from England was boxing for the gold medal in 2012, but in reality Li Jinzi from China was the boxer, there is no mention of Marshall or a boxer from England. This was a bit of an artistic dramatization.