Austin Butler is set to portray Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s reimagining of American Psycho.
Variety reports that the film, written by Scott Z. Burns, is no longer merely a remake, but rather a new interpretation of Brett Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel (although that is also what they claimed about The Crow). Butler is set to embody one of the most notable characters in the horror genre, first brought to life by Christian Bale in the 2000 film. The original book leans more towards a dark satirical comedy (and, in my opinion, is significantly more graphic and unsettling), whereas this adaptation aims to be more of a horror-thriller that depicts the affluent yuppie Patrick Bateman gradually descending into madness before embarking on a spree of violence and misogyny.
Earlier this year, there were speculations that Jacob Elordi was being considered for the role of Bateman, which is quite amusing given that both Butler and Elordi portrayed different versions of Elvis in two distinct biopics—Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla.
Lionsgate initially announced the project for an American Psycho remake approximately 13 years ago, with music video director Noble Jones set to write the screenplay. American Psycho 2, featuring Mila Kunis, was released in 2005—even though the unofficial sequel was directed by Dawson’s Creek’s