Netflix has released the first trailer for Unabomber, a new true-crime drama exploring the disturbing transformation of Ted Kaczynski from a brilliant young mathematician into the domestic terrorist known as the Unabomber. Directed by Janus Metz, the film connects Kaczynski’s early years at Harvard with the FBI investigation that ultimately led to his capture.
Jacob Tremblay takes on the challenging role of the young Kaczynski. Russell Crowe and Shailene Woodley also lead the cast. The film is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on September 25, 2026.
Jacob Tremblay Plays Young Ted Kaczynski
At just 16, Ted Kaczynski entered Harvard as a gifted mathematics student. His intelligence set him apart from many of his classmates. However, the trailer presents a young man who struggles with isolation and feels increasingly disconnected from those around him.
Jacob Tremblay portrays Kaczynski during this formative period. The actor has approached the character without turning him into a simple villain. Instead, the film focuses on his emotional isolation and complicated experiences as a young academic.
Tremblay said he drew from his own experience of entering a professional environment at a young age. That perspective helped him explore the feeling of being surrounded by older people while trying to find his place.
Russell Crowe’s Controversial Harvard Professor
One of the most important figures in the early part of Unabomber is Harvard psychologist Henry Murray, played by Russell Crowe.
According to the trailer, Murray encourages Kaczynski to participate in psychological experiments. The experiments become an important part of the film’s exploration of Kaczynski’s troubled development.
Annabelle Wallis plays Christiana Morgan, Murray’s academic partner and co-director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic. Their involvement adds another layer to the film’s portrayal of Kaczynski’s university years.
Rather than presenting Harvard simply as the setting for an academic success story, the movie examines the psychological pressures and experiences that surrounded the young student.
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Shailene Woodley Leads the FBI Investigation
The story also moves forward several decades to the 1990s. Shailene Woodley plays FBI agent Joanne Miller, who becomes involved in the search for the Unabomber.
The investigation follows nearly two decades of mail bombings attributed to Kaczynski. The FBI operation became one of the most significant manhunts in modern American history.
The trailer switches between the young Kaczynski at Harvard and the investigation into the adult Unabomber. This dual timeline allows the film to explore both his early development and his eventual capture.
A Story Told Across Two Timelines
Director Janus Metz has chosen a structure that moves between two major periods. One timeline begins in 1958, when Kaczynski was a teenager at Harvard. The other takes place in the mid-1990s as investigators work to identify and capture the Unabomber.
This approach gives Unabomber more than a traditional crime-story structure. The film aims to examine both the making of the notorious criminal and the investigation that brought his campaign to an end.
Metz is known for projects including Borg vs. McEnroe, All the Old Knives, and work on Andor. His experience with character-driven drama could give the Netflix film a more psychological approach to the real-life story.
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Unabomber Cast and Creative Team
Alongside Tremblay, Crowe, and Woodley, the cast features Annabelle Wallis, Alexander Ludwig, Steven Ogg, and Marc Menchaca.
Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves wrote the screenplay. Sophie Cassidy serves as producer, with the production coming from 2.0 Entertainment in association with MRC.
The creative team appears focused on balancing the FBI investigation with the psychological and personal elements surrounding Kaczynski’s early life.
Netflix Release Date
Unabomber is set to arrive on Netflix on September 25, 2026. The first trailer has already generated attention because of Jacob Tremblay’s transformation into one of the most notorious figures in American crime history.
The film will explore Kaczynski’s academic beginnings, his isolation, the controversial psychological experiments associated with his Harvard years, and the FBI investigation that eventually uncovered his identity.
With Jacob Tremblay, Russell Crowe, and Shailene Woodley leading the cast, Unabomber could become one of Netflix’s notable true-crime dramas of 2026.
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