Zac Efron to play one of America's most notorious serial killers

He's set to star as Ted Bundy in new drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Zac Efron's post-Disney career is a strange and fascinating one.

On the one hand, he's matured naturally into the kind of leading man roles that have seen him headline major studio comedies like Baywatch and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.

But, then, how does that explain a project like 2012's The Paperboy, Lee Daniels' sweat-drenched, daring piece of Southern, swampy pulp?

A move he seems to be following up with Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which will see him play one of America's most notorious serial murders, Ted Bundy (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Helmed by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger and penned by Michael Werwie, the film takes the perspective of Bundy's longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, who went years denying the accusations against Bundy before ultimately turning him in to the police.

Bundy eventually confessed to 30 homicides committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978, though the true number of his victims is still unknown and could possibly be much higher.

The film is set to begin filming on 9 October.