Jacob Elordi Set to Star as Gary Gilmore in ‘The Executioner’s Song’ Adaptation

Jacob Elordi has landed a leading role in a new adaptation of The Executioner’s Song, the true-crime story that made Gary Gilmore a national media sensation. United Artists has acquired the rights to the project, with Elordi set to portray Gilmore and also take on a producer role, according to the announcement reported by Deadline. The film is based on Norman Mailer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1979 book, which traces Gilmore’s life, the murders of two men in Utah and his insistence that his death sentence be carried out. After a four-year pause in executions, Gilmore became the first person executed in the United States when capital punishment resumed. The story also examines the legal fight surrounding his demand, as well as the media attention that surrounded the case. United Artists’ Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt will produce with Elordi, his manager Matt Vioral and producer Sherry Marsh. Lawrence Schiller, who directed the 1982 film version and conducted interviews that informed Mailer’s book, is attached as an executive producer. The earlier adaptation starred Tommy Lee Jones as Gilmore. Elordi’s recent screen work includes Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, for which he received major award nominations, as well as Euphoria and The Narrow Road to the Deep North. His film credits include Priscilla, Saltburn and Wuthering Heights. He is also expected to appear opposite Scarlett Johansson in Ari Aster’s upcoming A24 thriller, Scapegoat. The new project reunites a subject and creative team with a long history: Schiller’s reporting and interviews helped shape the source material, and he will now help guide the adaptation as it moves forward. The announcement did not provide a production schedule or release date.