Charlie Hunnam to play the skin-suit-wearing killer Ed Gein in Monster season 3

The second season of Ryan Murphy's Netflix anthology series Monster hasn't even dropped on the streaming service yet, but we're already getting information about the third season. 1428 Elm has learned that Monster season 3 will focus on murderer Ed Gein, also known as the "Butcher of Plainfield."

English actor Charlie Hunnam has been cast to play Gein in the series, which will go into production next month and is likely on track for a fall 2025 premiere. No other casting or plot details have been announced yet. Hunnam is best known for starring in Sons of Anarchy, The Gentlemen, and Rebel Moon.

This announcement comes just two days before the premiere of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, premiering globally on Thursday, September 19, exclusively on Netflix. As the title suggests, this season will follow the controversial case of the Menendez brothers, who were charged with murdering their parents and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lyle and Erik have maintained that they suffered years of mental, physical, and sexual abuse while living at home, and that's what eventually led them to murder.

Before Monsters, Netflix debuted Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which broke records on the streaming service, reaching one billion hours viewed in its first 60 days on the platform, one of only four shows to achieve that milestone. Netflix renewed the series for two additional seasons right after.

Because Dahmer featured serial killer John Wayne Gacy, many people believed he would become the focus of the second or third season of the show. There was even a rumor floating around on social media lately stating Gacy was confirmed as the subject of season 3, but now we can confirm that it will be about Gein.

The salacious and gruesome details of Gein's story have made him a source of inspiration for many horror icons, such as Norman Bates from Psycho, Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs. Murphy also allegedly based the American Horror Story: Asylum serial killer Dr. Oliver Thredson, aka "Bloody Face," after Gein.

Despite many people believing he was a serial killer, that remains unconfirmed. Gein's two known victims are Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden. However, he was suspected of killing many more.

Beyond being a brutal murderer, true crime enthusiasts and horror writers flock to Gein because of the grisly nature of his story: he was a known graverobber, a necrophile, and he dismembered his victims. Police found an assortment of horrific items in his home, including items fashioned out of human skin and bones.

Needless to say, we should anticipate the third season of Monster to be very controversial, to say the least.