With James Bond not in the cards, Jacob Elordi has decided to sign on to star as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore in a remake of The Executioner’s Song.
According to Deadline, Elordi will star in and produce the film adaptation of Norman Mailer’s landmark 1979 Pulitzer-winning true-life novel, previously adapted in 1982, for United Artists. Lawrence Schiller — who directed the original film and conducted the extensive interviews with Gilmore, his family and key figures that formed the foundation of Mailer’s book — will serve as an executive producer.
The Executioner’s Song chronicles the true story of Gilmore, a cold-blooded murderer who, after being tried and convicted for killing two men in Utah, insisted on being executed for his crimes. Fighting attorneys for a legal system intent on keeping him alive long after it sentenced him to death, Gilmore became a national media sensation and the first person executed in the United States following a four-year de facto moratorium on capital punishment. Told with impressive authority and compassion, The Executioner’s Song journeys deep into the heart of American violence, media frenzy and loneliness.
Elordi first rose to prominence playing Noah Flynn in Netflix’s The Kissing Booth trilogy. He gained wider recognition starring as Nate Jacobs in the HBO drama series Euphoria, which concluded earlier this year with its third and final season. Elordi is one of the many Euphoria stars to successfully make the jump from TV to film, appearing in acclaimed features like Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn.
He received an Oscar (and SAWard) nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. Most recently, he appeared in Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars. He will be seen next starring opposite Scarlett Johansson in Ari Aster’s A24 thriller, Scapegoat.
Have you seen the original Executioner’s Song? Are you interested in a remake with Elordi in the lead role? Tell us in the comments with your Disqus account!
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