Ryan Murphy—yes, the mastermind behind Monsters, Glee, and American Horror Story—is once again dipping his toe into the unsettling world of real-life crimes, and this time, the potential subject is as bizarre as it is chilling. According to an interview with Variety, Murphy is toying with the idea of creating a Netflix series about Luigi Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate currently awaiting trial for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
RELATED: Chris Colfer Just Bumped Into His Glee Dad at the Airport!
Yes, you read that right: Ryan Murphy, the man who gave us The People v. O.J. Simpson and Dahmer, might soon bring us a show about Mangione, whose actions—allegedly driven by anti-health insurance rhetoric—are so strange, they could easily be pulled straight from a fever dream. But is it too soon? Too much? Too… surreal for a TV series? Murphy seems to think not.
“We have a ‘maybe one day’ file,” Murphy said, speaking with his signature air of “I’ve got a hundred ideas on a napkin, but this one’s in a drawer.” It’s clear he’s intrigued, though it’s also evident that he doesn’t yet have enough material to turn Mangione’s alleged crimes into the type of serial killer drama that we’ve all come to expect from Murphy. “We know nothing about him,” Murphy admitted. “There was nothing to write – we didn’t have information yet. Maybe something will come out in the trial.”
Now, if you’re a fan of Monster (or even just of the weird, wild, and often jaw-dropping world of Ryan Murphy’s narratives), you’ll know he’s not one to shy away from controversial topics or murky moral lines. The first season of Monster dug deep into the life of Jeffrey Dahmer, and the second turned the spotlight on the Menendez brothers. Murphy’s third season, focusing on the infamous Ed Gein, hits Netflix this week. If Mangione makes it to the screen, though, it may be a story that’s just as much about the bizarre and twisted nature of the case as it is about the murky moral questions surrounding it.
So, who is Luigi Mangione? The Ivy League grad—who, perhaps paradoxically, studied at one of the country’s most prestigious schools—is accused of brutally murdering Brian Thompson, a CEO at UnitedHealthcare, last December in a calculated attack that still has the public scratching its collective head. Security footage showed a masked gunman (guess who?) walking up behind Thompson and shooting him in cold blood as he walked to a meeting in New York. What makes this crime so particularly unsettling? Well, the bullets were inscribed with words like “delay,” “deny,” and “depose”—phrases often associated with complaints about health insurance companies, as though Mangione was enacting some twisted revenge against the entire industry.
Let’s talk about that manifesto. As if a masked gunman wasn’t already straight-up “this can’t be real” enough, Mangione reportedly kept a notebook of rants about his disdain for the insurance industry. At one point, he even expressed admiration for the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, while planning his own personal assault against the “greed-fueled” health insurance cartel. So yeah, the idea that this could become a Netflix series? It almost makes too much sense in the world of Ryan Murphy’s “let’s push the envelope” style.
But of course, things get even more Murphy-esque when you consider how Mangione’s case has caught the attention of the public—and not just because of the gruesome murder. Outside the courtroom, protestors wearing green shirts emblazoned with a Luigi cartoon (yes, the Luigi, Mario’s sidekick) rallied, somehow tying the real-life tragedy to the beloved video game character. Seriously, if this isn’t prime material for a Ryan Murphy show, I don’t know what is.
Yet, as bizarre as the whole spectacle may seem, the courts continue to hold Mangione’s fate in limbo. Currently facing charges in both state and federal court, Mangione is not only facing life in prison but also the possibility of the death penalty. Federal prosecutors—clearly unimpressed by his supposed manifesto—have described the killing as “an act of political violence,” branding it a “cold-blooded assassination.” His defense, meanwhile, is arguing that facing two separate trials is an impossible task, calling the situation a “legal quagmire.” (How’s that for drama?)
But the real kicker? This whole situation might just be a case of too much drama, even for Ryan Murphy to handle—at least for now. Speaking about Mangione, Murphy admitted, “We know nothing about him,” leaving the door open for future revelations as the trial continues. But until then, don’t be surprised if you start hearing murmurings about The Ballad of Luigi Mangione in Netflix pitch meetings.
One thing is for sure: if this gets turned into a series, you can bet Murphy will make sure it’s a story of dark twists, moral ambiguity, and plenty of jaw-dropping moments. So, for now, we wait and watch—because if anyone can turn an unsettling, real-life story about political violence, masked assassins, and video game-themed protests into a binge-worthy spectacle, it’s Ryan Murphy.
Are we ready for another monster, though?
Stay tuned.
Source: Variety