Austin Butler to play Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s American Psycho

Alright folks, time to cash in on those bets. From the moment a new adaptation of director Luca Guadagnino’s “American Psycho” was announced, everyone began speculating furiously about which promising young actor should step into Christian Bale’s impeccably tailored suit as Patrick Bateman. Rumors swirled that “Saltburn” and “Priscilla” heartthrob Jacob Elordi was the number one choice (while we here at /Film speculate that Robert Pattinson or Mike Faist might also fit the bill), but the high-profile role has missing. still different renowned star who, coincidentally, has also played Elvis before. Let me formally congratulate everyone who had Austin Butler in their betting pool, because the star of “Dune: Part Two” and “The Bikeriders” reportedly won the role of a lifetime.

Variety reports that Butler has been cast as the lead in this new “American Psycho” movie, making her the latest sociopathic killer that the young actor has recently played, following his portrayal of the twisted villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in “Dune: Part Two.” Butler has already made a career of physically transforming herself in her relatively brief body of work, ranging from her early appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” to her unrecognizable role in the “Dune” sequel. Oh, fascinating acting and accent choices as the title character in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” (which, it has to be said, took Butler quite a while to get rid of).

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Slicked back hair, a chillingly empty smile and a taste for murder? Yes, Austin Butler could probably play Patrick Bateman in his sleep, although fortunately we can expect as chaotic and unexpected a performance of the character as he can think of. Butler won the coveted role in Luca Guadagnino’s modern version of “American Psycho,” but what does that really mean? Maybe don’t call this production a “remake.” Variety goes out of its way to describe this as a new adaptation of the original Bret Easton Ellis novel, which, of course, was made into the acclaimed 2000 film of the same name.

It’s fair to assume that Guadagnino, a perfect directorial choice, will put his own unique spin on the material. Director Mary Harron’s previous film was set in the 1980s, so that would almost certainly be the first detail in line for an update. That extends to the lead role itself, a character so powerful and unforgettable that “American Psycho” was largely responsible for thrusting Bale into the spotlight and putting him on the map forever. Variety notes that “the new version of the book may have a greater erotic emphasis than the original horror satire,” even if the original certainly contained more than its fair share of sex and erotica. (Even those who have never seen “American Psycho” have probably seen that gif of Christian Bale floating around the internet once or twice).

As for Guadagnino, this is his most ambitious production in a very busy time period. He’s just out of “Challengers” and “Queer” only in 2024, and next up will be the Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield one-two punch “After the Hunt.” His movie “American Psycho” doesn’t have an official release date yet, but we’re keeping a close eye on this one.