Zac Efron Gets Inside Serial Killer Ted Bundy’s Head For New Thriller ‘Extremely Wicked’

Zac Efron is busy preparing himself for a new role where he will be playing serial killer Ted Bundy in the upcoming drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The story will be told from the point of view of Ted Bundy’s long-term girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, who at one time refused point-blank to believe that Bundy was a cold-blooded murderer.

However, Elizabeth Kloepfer eventually came to terms with the fact that Ted Bundy had killed over 30 women during the 1970s and finally turned her boyfriend in to the police. With such a disturbing subject, 29-year-old Zac Efron will have his hands full when it comes to delving into the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked.

Playing Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked will also be a completely different type of role for Zac Efron than those he has taken on previously. Efron started out his Hollywood career as a hugely famous teen star and is known for hit comedies like Dirty Grandpa and Bad Neighbors, along with the popular television series Summerland. The most recent film that Zac Efron has been involved in is the upcoming Baywatch, which is a remake of the popular 90s TV show. Efron has played serious roles though, particularly in Parkland and The Paperboy.

Zac Efron’s new Ted Bundy role in Extremely Wicked will be directed by Joe Berlinger, the Oscar-nominated director who is also responsible for the Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster, as well as the West Memphis Three documentary. Now that Efron is finished working on the set of The Greatest Showman, Zac is slated to begin new drama Extremely Wicked in October, according to BBC News.

With Zac Efron starring as Ted Bundy, many are wondering who will be playing the part of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, the woman responsible for finally making sure that Bundy was taken into custody by the police. The Huffington Post has reported that the role of Kloepfer has not currently been cast, and there are no rumored actresses slated to play Elizabeth yet.

.@ZacEfron to star as serial killer Ted Bundy in new movie https://t.co/vyApsDvGBL pic.twitter.com/rQNDXtaHuQ

— Variety (@Variety) May 15, 2017

As one of the producers of Extremely Wicked, Nicolas Chartier spoke of his great delight in finally getting to work with Zac Efron, as Variety reports.

“I have been trying to work with Zac Efron for a long time. 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.”

With Zac Efron able to switch from funny to dramatic in a heartbeat, Ted Bundy will be a very interesting character for him to play, especially as Bundy was known to be an extremely charming man when he wanted to be. However, beneath that charming and funny exterior lurked a very angry and calculating serial killer, who was executed in Florida in 1989.

Even though Ted Bundy admitted to murdering 30 women in multiple states during the years of 1974 to 1978, it has been suspected that this number may actually be much higher, as it is unknown when Bundy first began his raping and killing sprees after he moved to Washington state.

The Extremely Wicked project was first announced in 2014, when it was reported that Michael Werwie would be the person responsible for writing the script, as Variety noted.

Production on Extremely Wicked with Zac Efron playing Ted Bundy will begin on October 9, but there is currently no release date set.

[Featured Image by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images]