- Season three of Netflix’s “Monster” series will be about serial killer Ed Gein.
- Charlie Hunnam will play Gein in the show created by Ryan Murphy.
- Gein inspired iconic horror movies including “Psycho” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
Netflix has whipped subscribers into a frenzy with “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which is about two brothers who murdered their parents in 1989.
But creator Ryan Murphy already has his sights set on season three, which he confirmed will be about serial killer Ed Gein.
After it was released last month, “Monsters” season two quickly topped Netflix’s most-watched list and sparked controversy by suggesting the Menendez brothers killed their parents to hide their own incestuous relationship. The brothers have denied that allegation, which Erik Menendez described as “vile and appalling.”
The backlash comes after the families of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims spoke out against how they and their late relatives were depicted in “Monster” season one.
But with actor Evan Peters winning a Golden Globe for his performance as Dahmer and Netflix commissioning a third season, it seems the streamer knows courting controversy can be good for business.
Charlie Hunnam will play Ed Gein in “Monster” season three
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At an event promoting “The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on September 16, Murphy announced Charlie Hunnam will play Gein in “Monster” season three, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The outlet also reported that filming for the next season would start in October, which means it will likely arrive on Netflix in late 2025 or early 2026.
Gein was a serial killer and grave robber who was arrested in 1957 after 57-year-old Bernice Worden disappeared in Plainfield, Wisconsin.
When the authorities searched Gein’s home, they found Worden’s decapitated body, as well as numerous other body parts around the property that the killer had used to make items including lampshades, masks, kitchen utensils, and a chair made of skin.
Gein later admitted to murdering two women, as well as exhuming numerous graves from a nearby cemetery to cut off body parts. He was deemed unfit to stand trial in 1958 because he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. 10 years later, he was re-assessed, stood trial, and was found guilty of Worden’s death.
However, he was also judged to be legally insane and was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
The disturbing nature of Gein’s crimes has inspired a number of movies and TV shows.
Director Alfred Hitchcock adapted Robert Bloch’s book “Psycho,” which was inspired by Gein, into the iconic horror movie of the same name.
Gein’s penchant for making household items out of body parts, including a belt made of nipples, meanwhile inspired the slasher movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
It’s also not the first time that Murphy has used Gein’s crimes in his work, as he introduced the grisly murderer called Bloodyface with similarly brutal tendencies in “American Horror Story” season two.
The “Monster” season three cast includes Tom Hollander, Laurie Metcalf, and Olivia Williams.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/Kristina Bumphrey/Variety/Getty Images/Gregg DeGuire/Variety/Getty Images
On October 15, Variety reported that actors Tom Hollander, Laurie Metcalf, and Olivia Williams will join Hunnam in the “Monster” season three cast.
According to the outlet’s sources, Metcalf will play Augusta Gein, the killer’s mother. Gein became obsessed with his mother and dug up her grave after she died of a stroke in December 1945. He also wanted to make a suit of skin so he could physically become her.
Hollander will play Hitchcock, which suggests that the series will examine the wider impact of Gein’s crimes. The British actor previously worked with Murphy on “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.”
Williams will play the filmmaker’s wife, Alma Reville.
Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren previously played the director and his wife in the 2012 biopic, “Hitchcock.”
