Summary
Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for UNABOMBER, a true-crime drama built around two timelines and starring Jacob Tremblay and Russell Crowe in the story of Ted Kaczynski.
The film premieres on Netflix on September 25, 2026. Tremblay plays the young Kaczynski during his Harvard years, while Crowe portrays Henry Murray, the psychologist who conducted controversial experiments in which the future Unabomber participated. Shailene Woodley appears as FBI agent Joanne Miller, a character connected to the dramatised investigation.
The production’s main point of interest is the way it attempts to connect the development of an exceptionally intelligent but isolated student with the later investigation into a series of bombings. That does not mean the film proves a simple cause for the crimes: it is a dramatic interpretation of real events, not a historical or scientific finding.
What the first trailer shows
The trailer opens in 1994, when the Unabomber attacks had already generated widespread fear and one of the most complex investigations in FBI history. The narrative then returns to 1958, when 16-year-old mathematics prodigy Ted Kaczynski enters Harvard and finds himself in an environment for which he is socially unprepared.
Moving between the two periods, the film contrasts interrogations and analysis of the bombings with the young Kaczynski’s experiences at university. Henry Murray is presented as a charismatic but threatening authority figure, while scenes of the psychological tests emphasise the student’s pressure and isolation.
Two actors, two different perspectives
Jacob Tremblay is asked to portray Kaczynski before his criminal campaign, at an age when intelligence, social difficulty and the desire for recognition coexist. Russell Crowe plays Henry Murray, a real Harvard professor and personality researcher whose experiments have attracted intense criticism.
Shailene Woodley plays Joanne Miller, an agent working within the film’s investigative strand. The cast also includes Annabelle Wallis, Odessa Young, Colin Woodell, Rafi Gavron and Sturgill Simpson. The presence of established actors does not make the characters historical sources; the screenplay condenses and dramatises events for cinematic purposes.
The real case behind the film
Between 1978 and 1995, Ted Kaczynski carried out a bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others. He targeted people he associated with technology and industrial society, and the case became more widely known after his manifesto was published and members of his family recognised features of his writing style.
The historical debate about Murray’s experiments and Kaczynski’s later violence remains complex. His participation in the experiments is documented, but the claim that they “created” the Unabomber is an oversimplification. The film appears to explore that connection as a dramatic question, making it important to distinguish its screen interpretation from established evidence.
Direction, running time and release
Janus Metz directs from a screenplay by Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves. Netflix lists a running time of 1 hour and 38 minutes and a US R rating. The worldwide premiere on the platform is scheduled for September 25, 2026.
The dual-timeline structure allows the production to work as both an investigation and a psychological coming-of-age drama. The crucial question is whether the film can avoid both demonising and mythologising its subject, while keeping the crimes and the people affected by them at the centre.
What we think
The first trailer suggests an ambitious production that goes beyond the familiar hunt for the Unabomber to examine how a socially isolated prodigy became a perpetrator of violence. That approach can provide meaningful context only if it maintains a clear distance from simplistic psychological explanations. Tremblay, Crowe and Woodley bring considerable acting weight, but the film’s credibility will depend primarily on how responsibly it handles real people and victims.
Frequently asked questions
When does UNABOMBER premiere?
The film will be available on Netflix on September 25, 2026.
Who does Russell Crowe play?
He plays Henry Murray, the Harvard professor who conducted controversial psychological experiments in which the young Ted Kaczynski participated.
Who plays the young Ted Kaczynski?
Jacob Tremblay takes the role, with the story returning to Kaczynski’s Harvard years from 1958.
Is the film a documentary?
No. It is a drama inspired by real events and uses cinematic compression and dramatisation.
