The novel American Psycho, published in 1991, is one of the hardest books of all time. The mix of 80s Wall Street satire and gruesome serial killer fantasies was so disturbing that the work of author Bret Easton Ellis, for example indexed in Germany from 1995 to 2001 was.
With Christian Bale as the main character Patrick Bateman, the first film adaptation was released in 2000 and is now cult. A few weeks ago, a new American Psycho adaptation from Challengers director Luca Guadagnino was announced. Now the star who will follow in Bale’s footsteps has been determined.
Dune 2 star Austin Butler stars in new American Psycho adaptation
Austin Butler has been cast as Patrick Bateman for Luca Guadagnino’s American Psycho adaptation, Variety reports. You may know the American star from Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis in the title role or more recently as psychopathic-sinister Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in the sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two.
Before Butler, Euphoria star Jacob Elordi was recently considered for the lead role. Guadagnino’s American Psycho will explicitly not be a remake of Mary Harron’s 2000 film, but rather one independent remake of Ellis’ novel. It remains to be seen whether the action will then be moved to the present.
Controversial classic novel: This is American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
In the book, investment banker Patrick Bateman leads a superficial life in 1980s New York between expensive branded products, dinners in exclusive restaurants, beautiful women and the Wall Street elite. The main character lives behind the facade perverse and sadistic sex and murder fantasies in which it is never clear whether they only take place in the head of the main character.
Ellis’ novel caused major protests after its publication because it depicts the protagonist’s violent excesses in the most explicit way. In some countries, such as Australia, the book can only be wrapped in plastic wrap and sold only to adults.
Behind the brutal escapades, the author has written a satirical reckoning with the consumer craze of the 80s. In American Psycho, Ellis also reflects on his own life as a young man in what was then New York, where he wanted to belong to a society at all costswhose values he personally despised.
Check out the trailer for the first American Psycho film adaptation here:
American Psycho – Trailer (German)
When does the American Psycho remake start in cinemas?
A start date for the new edition is not yet known. If filming can begin next year, there would be a theatrical release sometime in 2026 possible. You can currently stream the American Psycho version with Christian Bale with a subscription on Netflix.