Jacob Elordi Set to Play Convicted Killer Gary Gilmore in United Artists’ THE EXECUTIONER’S SONG

Jacob Elordi is trading monsters for murderers. Fresh off his Oscar-nominated performance in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, the actor has signed on to play convicted killer Gary Gilmore in a new adaptation of The Executioner’s Song for Scott Stuber’s United Artists.

It’s another dark, demanding role for Elordi, and the kind of material that could give him plenty to work with. United Artists has acquired the rights to the 1982 film, which was based on Norman Mailer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1979 true-crime novel. Elordi will star in the project and serve as a producer.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Gilmore was convicted of murdering two men in Utah in 1976. What made his case particularly disturbing was his determination to be executed. While attorneys fought to keep him alive, Gilmore demanded that the state carry out his death sentence.

His case became a national media circus, with Gilmore ultimately becoming the first person executed in the United States after a four-year unofficial halt to capital punishment.

Mailer’s book examines far more than the murders themselves. It explores America's relationship with violence, the death penalty, loneliness, and the media's obsession with turning criminals into celebrities. It's ugly, complicated material, and exactly the sort of story Hollywood should be willing to tackle without sanding off its rough edges.

The original 1982 television film starred Tommy Lee Jones as Gilmore and was directed by Lawrence Schiller, who will return as an executive producer on the new adaptation. My dad even had a small role as a prison guard in that film.

Schiller has a particularly important connection to the material. His extensive interviews with Gilmore, his family, and other people involved in the case helped provide the foundation for Mailer's novel. He also collaborated with Mailer on five major books, including The Executioner’s Song.

As for Elordi, he's putting together a strong filmography. His performance as the Creature in Frankenstein earned him nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and Actors Awards.

He also made his mark with HBO's Euphoria and the World War II limited series The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which earned him an AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama.

His other credits include Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, Emerald Fennell's Saltburn and Wuthering Heights, and Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars. He's also set to star opposite Scarlett Johansson in Ari Aster's upcoming A24 thriller Scapegoat.

Playing Gary Gilmore will be another big project for Elordi. Unlike the fictional characters he's played, Gilmore was a real person whose crimes left two men dead and whose execution became a defining moment in America's debate over capital punishment.

The challenge will be portraying someone this reprehensible without turning him into a misunderstood antihero. Mailer's book gives the filmmakers plenty of material to explore, especially when it comes to how the American media transformed Gilmore into a public spectacle.

There's no word yet on who will direct the new film or when production might begin.