Zac Efron has been cast to play serial killer Ted Bundy in a film that will begin shooting in October.
Efron, the "High School Musical" alum who will star opposite Dwayne Johnson in "Baywatch" May 25, has signed on to portray the notorious murderer in the film "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Extremely Wicked" is being directed by Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger, according to the entertainment industry website. Variety reported that Michael Werwie's original screenplay for the movie won the Nicholl Fellowship first prize and made it on the Black List.
"I have been trying to work with Zac Efron for a long time," said Nicolas Chartier, who is producing the movie with Ara Keshishian for Voltage Pictures alongside Costigan for Cota Films, according to Variety.
"From his dramatic turn in 'Paperboy' to his hilarious performance in 'Neighbors,' he continues to impress audiences and critics alike with his extraordinary versatility and range. We couldn't be more excited to see him in this amazing role," Chartier continued.
Bundy was convicted in 1979 for the murder of two college women at a sorority house at Florida State University the year before. In 1980, he was convicted in the death of a 12-year-old girl, whose body was discovered shortly after the Florida State murders.
Bundy was executed in Florida in 1989 for the three deaths, but he was allegedly connected to at least 36 murders of young women, according to Biography.com.
"The film . . . will be told from the perspective of Bundy's longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer," according to E! Online writer McKenna Aiello. "True crime fanatics will remember Kloepfer as the one who turned Bundy in to authorities, though she continued to date him despite her growing suspicion that Bundy was involved in the disappearances of multiple young women in the 1970s."
"Bundy was described as attractive and charming, characteristics that factored into him committing at least 30 confessed homicides across seven states up until his capture in 1978," Aiello continued.
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