Zac Efron is gearing up for the huge release of the rebooted Baywatch, and it’s just been announced that he will take on the role of serial killer Ted Bundy.
Efron will star as Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which will be helmed by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory).
Bundy was executed in 1989 after confessing to carrying out more than 30 murders over the course of at least four years in the mid-to-late 1970s.
The upcoming movie will be told through the eyes of Bundy's long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, who ultimately turned the killer into the police. Only nearing his execution, when Bundy began talking about his extensive and heinous murders, did Kloepfer, and the rest of the world, learn the true scope of his numerous and grizzly crimes.
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Michael Werwie wrote the original screenplay, which earned him the coveted Nicholl Fellowship first prize and was on the Black List too.
Nicholas Chartier and Ara Keshishian are producing.
“I have been trying to work with Zac Efron for a long time,” Chartier said. “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.”
Efron is best known for comedies like Bad Neighbours, Dirty Grandpa and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, but he managed to prove his drama acting abilities in Paperboy.
Zac Efron is scheduled to begin filming Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile with director Berlinger in October.
The actor is also working with Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams on The Greatest Showman, which tells the incredible true story of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
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Baywatch buzz
Next up for release for Zac Efron is Baywatch, which is released on May 29 in the UK.
Paramount’s action-comedy Baywatch generated the most social media buzz last week with nearly 45,000 new conversations, according to media measurement firm comScore and its PreAct service.
The studio released a new red band trailer on May 10 and held its red carpet world premiere in Miami on May 13. “Baywatch” stars Dwayne Johnson as the leader of the elite Baywatch lifeguard squad, while Zac Efron portrays a washed-up pro athlete brought in for PR spin.
Ahead of its release, the film has already generated more than 500,000 new conversations on social media.