Charlie Hunnam debuts his menacing look for Monster: The Ed Gein Story KW Monster: The Ed Gein Story 

Charlie Hunnam appears on the new poster for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, and the image already sets the tone. Netflix confirmed the actor as the lead of the third season of the true-crime anthology created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. The series drops on October 3, 2025, when all episodes will be released worldwide.

The poster doesn’t just introduce a character. It feels like the first warning, a small signal that something darker is on the way. Ed Gein as the choice changes the rhythm of the franchise. First, it was Jeffrey Dahmer. Then the Menendez brothers. Now the story shifts again, to Wisconsin in the 1950s. A small town, frozen fields, a quiet farm. And suddenly the focus lands on a man whose name filled police reports and, strangely, reshaped the way horror stories were told for years.

The character and his legacy

Ed Gein became known in the mid-20th century for crimes that shocked a small rural town. He lived alone on a decaying farm, presenting himself as a quiet figure, while hiding a reality that disturbed investigators when it came to light. In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Netflix describes him with three short terms: serial killer, grave robber, psycho.

What followed went beyond the courts and the newspapers. His actions provided material that would later inspire iconic characters of horror cinema. Norman Bates in Psycho. Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. Each of them, in some way, was born from fragments of Gein’s story. In its promotional material, Netflix highlights this influence and calls him the blueprint for modern horror.

The tone of Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is described as the darkest season so far. The official logline points to the frozen fields of 1950s Wisconsin and to the figure of Eddie Gein as a mild-mannered recluse. Behind the walls of his house, however, were discoveries that shaped what the streamer calls the American nightmare.

The text also notes three driving forces: isolation, psychosis, and an all-consuming obsession with his mother. According to Netflix, it was this combination that led to crimes that continue to echo in culture. The season approaches Gein’s actions as more than local tragedies, framing them within a history of how monsters entered popular imagination.

Building the atmosphere

The first poster already frames the approach. Charlie Hunnam appears with a threatening look, a presence that suggests the heavy tone of what is to come. Set in the rural, mid-century landscapes of Wisconsin, Monster: The Ed Gein Story connects the image of a quiet farm with the gruesome secrets hidden inside. Marketing introduces it this way, leaving no room for doubt: the season wants to underline how horror can emerge from the most ordinary places.

Cast and creative team

Alongside Charlie Hunnam, the cast of Monster: The Ed Gein Story includes Tom Hollander, Laurie Metcalf, and Suzanna Son. Other confirmed names are Vicky Krieps, Olivia Williams, Lesley Manville, Joey Pollari, Charlie Hall, Tyler Jacob Moore, Mimi Kennedy, Will Brill, and Robin Weigert.

The list of executive producers brings back Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, joined by Max Winkler, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich, Louise Shore, Carl Franklin, and Charlie Hunnam. Brennan and Winkler also direct episodes. This structure keeps the creative core consistent while adding Hunnam’s participation behind the camera.

The cultural impact of Gein

Netflix underlines the cultural impact of Ed Gein’s story. In its official description, the streamer says his crimes not only horrify his community but also give rise to a new kind of monster. The language connects his case to decades of fiction, presenting him as the source of characters that defined horror on screen.

By including Monster: The Ed Gein Story in the anthology, the production reinforces its own pattern. Each season has chosen a story that goes beyond the case itself. The first with Dahmer, the second with the Menendez brothers, now with Gein. All of them left an imprint that reached audiences far outside the places where the crimes originally took place.

The franchise so far

When Monster debuted in 2022 with The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, it quickly became one of Netflix’s most talked-about releases. The following season turned to The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Both followed the formula of dramatizing real cases while pointing to their resonance in culture. The third installment follows this same direction, this time centered on a figure from mid-century America whose name became inseparable from horror itself.

This consistency explains the format’s position inside the platform. By combining crime, history, and cultural legacy, the anthology has secured visibility in the global catalog.

Global release

The third season, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, premieres October 3, 2025. All episodes will drop on the same day. The poster with Charlie Hunnam in character is the first element of a campaign that sets a grim and unsettling atmosphere. The release will revisit one of the most disturbing episodes in American crime history, presenting how its echoes extended into cinema and beyond.