Luca Guadagnino’s ‘American Psycho’: Everything We Know
So the news is out: Patrick Bateman, the skincare-obsessed yuppie serial killer with a keen eye for a well-kerned business card is set to return to our screens after more than 20 years. Even more interesting: cult Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino will breathe life back into the American Psycho story (the less said about American Psycho 2, a film even its star Mila Kunis called “bad”, the better).
But while the internet has run away with speculation who might be cast and what the film will look like through a mid 2020s lens, let’s have a little glance over everything we know so far (including when the release date will be, when the trailer is out, and anything else of note in what’s set to be a no-doubt controversial reboot).
American Psycho: the director
In October 2024, Deadline reported that Guadagnino was in “final negotiations for a new interpretation of the book”, that book being Bret Easton Ellis’ psychological thriller from 1991. “Sources say that rather than a remake, Guadagnino’s film will be a new adaptation of Ellis’ novel,” the publication reported. “The property is something the studio has been trying to crack for some time, and following recent meetings with Guadagnino execs felt he was the perfect choice to bring a fresh take.”
“Luca is a brilliant artist, and the perfect visionary to create a whole new interpretation of this potent and classic IP,” Lionsgate chair Adam Fogelson added in a statement, expanding on why Guadagnino was their first choice.
Scott Z. Burns – the writer behind Contagion, The Bourne Ultimatum and Side Effects – will be on scriptwriting duties for the all-new Psycho outing, while Lionsgate, who will be making the film, said it’s been something they’ve wanted to take a crack at for a while. Can Guadagnino work his magic on the old IP? And can Paul Allen get a table at Dorsia?
American Psycho: release date
As the project is only the earliest stages, we wouldn’t be hopeful of seeing this before 2026, at the very earliest. Still, time to crack open your dog-eared copy of the book and re-read it.
American Psycho: trailer
And obviously, with no casting or even a script yet, we’re a long way off the trailer too. We’ll update this as more progress on Bateman’s sicko story starts.
American Psycho: cast
So, who best in Hollywood to play Patrick Bateman and follow in the bloody footsteps of Christian Bale? First thoughts would be Timothee Chalamet. Not in a bad way, but for the very obvious reason that Chalamet has worked several times with Guadagnino via Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All. Is Chalamet too young to play Bateman? Well, it turns out that Bateman was only written as 27 in Easton Ellis’ book – and Timmy is 28. It’s a possibility, but is it too obvious?
Other suggestions knocking around are: Glen Powell (we could definitely see this working), Jacob Elordi (who honed that whole creepy toxic masculinity thing as Nate in Euphoria), and British actors Harris Dickinson and Will Poulter, the latter’s potential casting being given all the more credibility when he was photographed with Guadagnino at a screening of his recent film, Queer. Hold tight to see who ultimately triumphs at those auditions.
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