Austin Butler To Play Patrick Bateman In Luca Guadagnino's American Psycho Movie

Warner Bros.

Alrighty folks, time to collect on those bets. From the moment a new adaptation of "American Psycho" was announced from director Luca Guadagnino, everybody began furiously speculating on which young, up-and-coming actor ought to step into the immaculately-tailored suit of Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman. Rumors swirled that "Saltburn" and "Priscilla" heartthrob Jacob Elordi was the #1 choice (while we here at /Film speculated that Robert Pattinson or Mike Faist could fit the bill, as well), but the high-profile role has instead gone to a different name-brand star who, coincidentally enough, has also portrayed Elvis before. Allow me to formally congratulate everyone who had Austin Butler in their betting pool, because the "Dune: Part Two" and "The Bikeriders" star has reportedly won the role of a lifetime.

Variety reports that Butler has been cast as the lead of this new "American Psycho" film, making this the latest sociopathic murderer that the young actor has played recently, following his scene-stealing performance as the twisted villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in "Dune: Part Two." Butler has already made a career out of transforming physically in his relatively brief body of work, ranging from his early appearance in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" to his unrecognizable role in the "Dune" sequel to his, ah, fascinating acting and accent choices as the titular character in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" (which, it must be said, took quite a while for Butler to shake off).

Read on for more details!

Lionsgate

Slicked-back hair, a blood-chillingly empty smile, and a taste for murder? Yeah, Austin Butler could probably play Patrick Bateman in his sleep — though, thankfully, we can fully look forward to as chaotic and unexpected an interpretation of the character as he can possibly come up with. Butler has won the highly-coveted role for Luca Guadagnino's modern retelling of "American Psycho," but what does that actually mean? Maybe don't call this production a "remake." Variety goes out of its way to describe this as a fresh adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' original novel which, of course, was turned into the acclaimed 2000 film of the same name.

It's fair to assume that Guadagnino, a perfect choice for director, will put his own unique spin on the material. The previous movie by director Mary Harron was set in the 1980s, so that would almost certainly be the first detail in line for an update. That extends to the main role itself, a character so potent and unforgettable that "American Psycho" was largely responsible for thrusting Bale into the spotlight and putting him on the map for good. Variety notes that "the new take on the book could have a larger erotic emphasis than the original horror satire," even if the original certainly contained more than its fair share of sex and eroticism. (Even those who have never gotten around to "American Psycho" have likely seen that gif of Christian Bale floating around the internet a time or two.)

As for Guadagnino, this marks his most ambitious production in a very busy stretch of time. He's just coming off both "Challengers" and "Queer" in 2024 alone, with the Julia Roberts/Andrew Garfield two-hander "After the Hunt" up next. His "American Psycho" film has no official release date just yet, but we're keeping a close eye on this one.