First look at Elijah Wood in Ted Bundy film No Man of God

No Man of God is an upcoming true crime/serial killer drama film starring Elijah Wood as FBI agent Bill Hagmaier who had an actual relationship with Ted Bundy while he was in jail. It was Hagmaier to whom Bundy confessed his crimes to while he was on Death Row.

Entertainment Weekly recently revealed several exclusive first look photos for the film along with their interview with director Amber Sealey. Joining Bundy in the movie is Luke Kirby, who will play the infamous serial killer.

According to Sealey, she wanted to focus on the complicated relationship between Hagmaier and Bundy and how their strange friendship impacted the agent long after it was all said and done.

“Even though Bill himself is a very religious, very good, very honorable person, he had to forge a friendship with Bundy, in a way, in order to get close enough to him in order for Bundy to feel safe enough to come clean. And he did,” says Sealey.

Some conversations shown in No Man of God are based on real conversations

Considering the monumental amount of material out there on Bundy in the form of documentaries, docuseries, non-fiction books and beyond, it’s not too surprising then that some of the conversations we’ll see in the film are based on real conversations and recollections from Hagmaier.

Initially, Wood only joined the project as a producer without any intent to star, but things changed along the way.

“I’m only ever thinking as a producer. It was a significant way through the process that I was like, I actually do want to do this. I love Bill and I love his journey in this relationship,” said Wood.

As for Kirby, he initially turned down playing the role of the serial killer, but Sealey eventually convinced him to give it a shot. She was convinced that he would be perfect for the role and genuinely wanted a chance to work with the actor, who you might recognize from the acclaimed Amazon Prime series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Plus, Sealey also got to work with the real Bill Hagmaier and he proved to be an essential resource to the film’s preparation. According to the director, she “became quite good friends with him” and he was always available to her whenever she had questions, even if it was about something emotional.

No Man of God doesn’t yet have a release date as the film is still in post-production, but if you head to the source at EW you can check out a few exclusive images of the film that show Kirby and Wood in character and mid-conversation.