Hollywood's #1 bro Zac Efron is about to play a much more sinister role on screen. The actor has just signed on to play one of the world's most heinous serial killers, Ted Bundy, in Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline are reporting.

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The project is to be directed by Joe Berlinger, with Michael Werwie behind the script. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is "told through the perspective of Elizabeth Kloepfer, Bundy's longtime girlfriend who went years denying the accusations against Bundy, but ultimately turned him in to 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 murders."

Efron was tapped to play Bundy partly because "he can play both the depth and the charm that this guy had in equal measures, and which allowed him to manipulate these women in such a terrifying way," one of the film's producers, Nicolas Chartier, told Deadline. "We think in the vein of Nightcrawler or even The Jinx, we are making a psychological thriller that will resonate deeply with audiences." Chilling.

Filming is set to start this October.

From: ELLE US
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Alyssa Bailey
Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.