Unabomber Film Origin Story
Netflix Film Explores Ted Kaczynski’s Path From Math Prodigy to Domestic Terrorist
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Netflix’s film “Unabomber” portrays Ted Kaczynski’s path from teenage mathematics prodigy to domestic terrorist, whose 17-year bombing campaign killed three people and injured more than 20. It moves between Kaczynski’s youth, including controversial Harvard psychological experiments, and the FBI investigation that led to his capture. The film fictionalizes Shailene Woodley’s FBI character and Christiana Morgan’s involvement in the experiments, though investigators did use linguistic analysis of Kaczynski’s manifesto. Directed by Janus Metz, the film aims to explore Kaczynski’s psychology without excusing or romanticizing his crimes; Jacob Tremblay plays the young Kaczynski, with Russell Crowe as Professor Henry Murray. The standalone feature was slated for a global Netflix premiere on September 25, 2026, distinct from the service’s 2017 miniseries “Manhunt: Unabomber.”
Key Points
1
Kaczynski reportedly scored 167 on an IQ test in fifth grade, skipped sixth and 11th grades, and entered Harvard on scholarship at age 16.
2
After graduating from Harvard in 1962, Kaczynski earned graduate degrees at the University of Michigan and became an assistant mathematics professor at UC Berkeley in 1967.
3
Historical accounts do not place Christiana Morgan in the experiments Kaczynski underwent; Murray’s graduate assistants handled the day-to-day work.
4
Jacob Tremblay said playing Kaczynski appealed to him partly because the role was so unlike him: “Ted’s the complete opposite of me.”
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