Everyone knows the name, but there’s a lot more to his story than you think. On September 25, you’re invited to dive into the true story of UNABOMBER.
Janus Metz’s upcoming film tells the story of the man who orchestrated a decades-long mail bombing campaign that killed 3 people and injured 23 more. Jacob Tremblay stars as the young Ted Kaczynski, with Russell Crowe playing a controversial Harvard professor.
“UNABOMBER is a story about a young man who feels increasingly disenfranchised by society and decides to take up violence as a means of revenge,” director Metz tells Tudum. “We crosscut between two timelines, roughly speaking: the making of the Unabomber and the capture of the Unabomber.”
Tremblay didn’t know the story of Kaczynski’s childhood until signing on to play the young Unabomber. “I didn’t even know he went to Harvard until I read the script; I think most people don’t,” Tremblay tells Netflix. “But he was a mathematical genius when he was 16. It’s quite fascinating, actually.”
Kaczynski’s journey from child prodigy to domestic terrorist has plenty more twists and turns. You can check out first-look photos below, and read on to learn more.
Inspired by true events, UNABOMBER 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.
“I was fascinated by the fact that the hunt for the Unabomber was the FBI’s longest and most expensive operation to date,” Metz says. “But what really drew me in was the story about Ted Kaczynski’s years at Harvard when he was a young math student. This was a side to the story I didn’t know about; it helps uncover a very dark chapter in American history.”
“There’s a parallel between her and Ted in the sense that neither one of them is willing to back down from their intuition and their instincts,” Woodley tells Netflix, referring to her FBI agent character. “Obviously, they have very different motives, but there is this audacity that both of them have.”
UNABOMBER is directed by Metz (Borg vs McEnroe, All the Old Knives) from a script by Sam Chalsen & Nelson Greaves (TV’s Sleepy Hollow). Sophie Cassidy produces for 2.0 Entertainment, in association with MRC. Donald J. Lee, Sam Chalsen, and Nelson Greaves serve as executive producers.
The cast of UNABOMBER includes:
Metz knew Tremblay was the perfect actor to anchor UNABOMBER’s dual narrative.
“Jacob Tremblay is an immensely talented young actor,” Metz says. “He has a sensitivity that feels perfect for my vision of Ted when he was a young student at Harvard. There’s a vulnerability and intelligence to Jacob’s look and performance that this story needs. I was convinced that Jacob was right for the part after our first conversation, and it has been a huge pleasure to now finally be able to do the work and hone in on the character with him.”
For his part, Tremblay avoided playing the infamous Kaczynski as a caricature.
“I really wanted to make sure I went into this role playing him as a real person,” Tremblay says. “I wanted him to feel real. I drew from my own personal experiences of what it feels like to be involved in a career where I’m surrounded by a lot of people who are older than me, and that feeling of not fitting in a bit.”
UNABOMBER lands on Netflix on September 25, 2026.
