After rumblings that the role of Patrick Bateman would be gender-swapped for Luca Guadagnino‘s gestating remake of “American Psycho” at Lionsgate with a script penned by Scott Z. Burns, a new trade report is trying to clarify things by debunking the claim that spread like wildfire on the internet.
Deadline went of its way to find out gender-swap casting rumor was genuine, calling it a “non-starter’ (basically untrue), and the trade outlet likely heard this from someone much better informed than your average clickbait-fuelled tabloid (someone either working on the film or Lionsgate themselves, who likely don’t want any misinformation being spread that could cause oddball frenzies among film nerds and fans of the original movie).
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The rumor itself that originated from British tabloid outlet, The Sun, seemed believable enough given Hollywood trends; however, Lionsgate had previously already tread those female serial killer waters with the long-forgotten and unsuccessful “American Psycho 2,” which starred a young Mila Kunis (as she transitioned from TV to film) as the new killer.
Bret Easton Ellis‘ 1991 novel was previously turned into a feature by Canadian filmmaker Mary Harron at the helm and Christian Bale in the lead role, with on-the-rise actors such as Reese Witherspoon and Jared Leto taking minor supporting parts. While now considered a seminal performance from Bale, at the time, there was just as much backlash for casting the actor as the 1980s serial killer as there was when Christopher Nolan selected him to play Bruce Wayne in “Batman Begins.” Thankfully, over time, the movie has developed quite a following, which understandably led Lionsgate to pursue a remake alongside Guadagnino, previously remaking Dario Argento‘s beloved witchy horror flick “Suspiria.”
Speaking of casting, we’ve seen Patrick Schwarznegger (“The White Lotus”) publicly campaigning for the Bateman role alongside potential contender Austin Butler (“Caught Stealing”), who was recently in talks for a co-starring part in Joseph Kosinski‘s “Miami Vice” remake opposite Michael B. Jordan (expected to begin shooting in 2026).
We have to assume the lack of updates (which can lead to all sorts of gossip and speculation from all corners of the internet) on “American Psycho” mostly has to do with Guadagnino recently pivoting to his OpenAI biopic drama “Artificial” and the Italian filmmaker is now busy shooting that project, led by Andrew Garfield in the lead role of Sam Altman, the tech-bro CEO that was fired and rehired.
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