Nearly 25 years after the original movie’s release, a new American Psycho adaptation is in development with Oscar nominee Luca Guadagnino at the helm. Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel centers on New York City investment banker Patrick Bateman who frequently indulges in his more sadistic urges as a serial killer, murdering many of his fellow yuppies and women. American Psycho was previously adapted by Mary Harron, with Christian Bale leading the cast and garnering rave reviews for his performance, with the movie having garnered a cult following in the years since.

Lionsgate is officially moving forward with a new American Psycho movie, which is being described as a “new interpretation” of Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel of the same name. Guadagnino is currently in final negotiations with the studio to direct the new adaptation, with The Bourne Ultimatum’s Scott Z. Burns penning the script. In addition to Lionsgate, the new movie will be produced by Frenesy Films and executive produced by Pressman Film with Sam Pressman, the son of the original movie’s producer, onboard. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson wrote the following statement about the new movie:

We are thrilled to add another elite filmmaker to our upcoming slate. Luca is a brilliant artist, and the perfect visionary to create a whole new interpretation of this potent and classic IP.

What Guadagnino’s Hiring Means For American Psycho
It’s Not His First Reinterpretation Of A Horror Classic

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a studio has sought to expand on the original American Psycho’s success, having produced a direct-to-video sequel in 2002 with Mila Kunis taking over as a new lead character who killed Patrick Bateman in her childhood. Unlike the first movie, though, Kunis’ sequel was met with near-universal panning from critics, with Ellis denouncing the film ahead of its release. Kunis has also come out in the time since and expressed embarrassment over the project, noting it was not originally meant to be a sequel to it, but instead a separate project.

Related American Psycho Got A Sequel That No One Remembers 2 Years After The Christian Bale Movie The American Psycho sequel starring Mila Kunis was a massive failure, but the film wasn’t always going to be a sequel to the cult classic.

The new American Psycho movie will also mark Guadagnino’s second time reinterpreting a horror classic for a modern audience. He memorably spent the better part of a decade developing a new take on Dario Argento’s Suspiria, which also shifted from being a straightforward remake to an homage of the original, expanding to tackle larger themes of motherhood and German history amid its surreal witchcraft horror. Guadagnino’s approach was a decidedly polarizing one, currently sitting at a 67% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 72% from audiences.

With American Psycho being described as a new interpretation and adaptation of Ellis’ novel, it’s clear that Guadagnino’s movie will be taking a similarly different approach from Bale’s cult classic. Though it was generally faithful to its source material, Bale’s movie did take a number of deviations from Ellis’ book, leaving room for Guadagnino to restore some of what was missing from the 2000 adaptation, including Bateman’s motivations for many of his killings, and some of the visceral nature of them.

Our Take On Guadagnino’s American Psycho
A Period Setting Could Make It More Effective

While I may not have been overly wowed by his take on Suspiria, I do think Guadagnino will be a great fit for tackling American Psycho’s themes of consumerism, capitalism and pop culture obsession. That said, one of the big keys to making this work is to find a time period that suits these themes, particularly as the ’80s and ’90s really made the yuppie takedown of Ellis’ novel all the more relevant.

Rather than go that far back, though, I think it would be more interesting to see American Psycho set in the mid 2000s, just before the American financial crisis. This would not only allow Guadagnino to take a similar approach to historical themes he did with Suspiria, but could also establish an interesting foundation for Bateman’s gradually unstable mental state and add an interesting extra layer to where Ellis’ novel ends.

Source: Lionsgate

Based on the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) an investment banker in New York in 1987 who leads a double life as a serial killer. As investigators circle Bateman after the disappearance of a colleague, he finds himself trapped in a spiral of murder and excess, unable to stop himself from giving in to his increasingly dark urges. Also stars Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon. Director Mary Harron Release Date April 14, 2000 Studio(s) Lionsgate Distributor(s) Lionsgate Writers Bret Easton Ellis , Mary Harron , Guinevere Turner Runtime 101 minutes Budget $7 million Expand