Unabomber on Netflix: Jacob Tremblay, Russell Crowe and Shailene Woodley Deliver Fall 2026's Chilling True-Crime Event

Netflix's Unabomber Starring Jacob Tremblay and Russell Crowe Drops September 25 — And the Trailer Is Chilling

Netflix just dropped the trailer for Unabomber, its buzzy true-crime drama starring Jacob Tremblay as a young Ted Kaczynski, and honestly? It's the most unsettling transformation we've seen all year. The film premieres September 25, 2026, and it's already shaping up to be one of fall's most talked-about streaming releases alongside The Whisper Man and Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.

Directed by Janus Metz (Armadillo, Borg vs McEnroe), Unabomber boasts a stacked ensemble: Russell Crowe, Shailene Woodley, Annabelle Wallis, Alexander Ludwig, Steven Ogg, and Marc Menchaca. That's serious awards-season energy for a September streaming drop.

From Room to Radical: Jacob Tremblay's Wildest Role Yet

A decade ago, Jacob Tremblay broke our hearts in Room opposite Brie Larson and charmed us in Wonder with Julia Roberts. Now 19, he's going full dark side as Harvard prodigy Ted Kaczynski — the domestic terrorist behind a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23.

The trailer leans hard into Kaczynski's early years: a teenage genius admitted to Harvard at 16, subjected to controversial CIA-linked psychological experiments under professor Henry Murray, and slowly radicalizing in a Montana cabin. Russell Crowe plays the veteran FBI profiler hunting him, while Shailene Woodley stars as the forensic linguist whose breakthrough — identifying Kaczynski through linguistic fingerprints in his 35,000-word manifesto — finally cracks the case.

• Director: Janus Metz
• Stars: Jacob Tremblay, Russell Crowe, Shailene Woodley, Annabelle Wallis
• Premiere: September 25, 2026 on Netflix
• Genre: True-crime drama / thriller (R-rated)

Why This Joins Netflix's Killer True-Crime Streak

Netflix is on an absolute tear with true crime right now. The Whisper Man with Robert De Niro and Adam Scott is currently sitting at No. 1 on the Top 10, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story from Ryan Murphy starring Ella Beatty drops September 17, and now Unabomber closes out the month. Add in Tyler Perry's Doing Life and the Death of the Pastor's Wife docuseries, and September 2026 might be Netflix's strongest true-crime month ever.

What sets Unabomber apart is the prestige angle. Metz is a serious filmmaker, Crowe is an Oscar winner, and Tremblay's transformation — gaunt, intense, unrecognizable — is already generating awards buzz. Early reactions to the trailer compare it to Mindhunter meets Good Will Hunting gone horribly wrong. If you've been sleeping on fall streaming, wake up: September 25 can't come fast enough.

Will you be watching Unabomber on day one? Or are you still recovering from The Whisper Man? Let us know — and check back for our full review after the premiere.