After all that fuss? Rumors have been flying around recently that Challengers and Queer director Luca Guadagnino was being lined up for a remake of American Psycho.
This was picked up by the trades.
Now the author of the original story, Brett Easton Ellis, has thrown this all into doubt. Will Austin Butler star as Patrick Batman, taking on the role Christian Bale played in the infamous first adaption?
Not according to Ellis on his own podcast:
“I have a feeling it’s fake news. I heard somewhere, from someone, that there are no contracts. Austin Butler hasn’t signed anything to play Patrick Bateman. Luca doesn’t have a deal. Scott Burns, who is supposed to write the screenplay, doesn’t have a deal either.
From various sources that I have, this is just fake news that was put out there to see how an audience is going to react…. If it does exist, I am not involved, I have nothing to do with this, I might get some money if they do this, but I am not involved creatively on any level, and that is all I know.”
The world has moved on significantly, with the kind of gore and violence that was once the preserve of R rated movies now common on television.
What would this mean for the graphic content of American Psycho retold in the 2020’s?