Pictures courtesy of Netflix and Getty Images
Netflix is gearing up for another prestige true-crime drama, this time digging into the chilling story behind one of America’s most infamous domestic terrorists. Titled UNABOM, this new thriller is inspired by real events and will follow the early life and eventual unraveling of Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber.
The project is being helmed by director Janus Metz, with the script penned by Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves. Metz, a Danish filmmaker, recently worked on the critically acclaimed Disney+ series Andor in addition to movies like Heartbound: A Different Kind of Love Story and Borg vs. McEnroe.
Sophie Cassidy produces for 2.0 Entertainment, with Don Lee, Chalsen, and Greaves serving as executive producers. The film is being developed in association with MRC.
Jacob Tremblay, best known for his breakout roles in Room and Wonder, has previously appeared in two Netflix Originals, albeit in voice roles, in My Father’s Dragon and Orion and the Dark. He will take on the lead role of Kaczynski.
Picture Credit: Netflix / Getty Images
Russell Crowe, in his first significant role for Netflix, will portray Professor Henry Murray, the Harvard psychologist whose controversial experiments on Kaczynski remain a dark footnote in academic history.
Shailene Woodley rounds out the core cast as FBI agent Joanne Miller, who leads the high-stakes manhunt years later. Also starring is Annabelle Wallis in a yet-to-be-revealed role.
The official logline sets the stage for a psychological and procedural thriller:
“Inspired by true events, UNABOM follows Ted Kaczynski’s (Jacob Tremblay) transformation from Harvard prodigy into the infamous Unabomber. Subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe), Kaczynski’s troubled past resurfaces decades later when his manhunt, led by FBI agent Joanne Miller (Shailene Woodley), brings to light the chilling consequences of ambition and isolation.”
Production is expected to begin soon, and while the film has yet to be given a release date, it’s already shaping up to be one of Netflix’s more ambitious true-crime projects in development.
This marks Netflix’s first-ever Unabomber project, with the exception of the series Manhunt: Unabomber, which Netflix carried the streaming rights to for four years between 2018 and 2022. Netflix also streams the documentary series “Unabomber – In His Own Words” in select countries at the time of publication.
Stay tuned to What’s on Netflix for more on UNABOM as we track casting updates, production timelines, and eventual release plans.
