Challengers director Luca Guadagnino has finally confirmed that his American Psycho remake is alive and kicking – and perhaps murdering…
After months of toing and froing, it seems that the psychodrama (excuse the bad pun, it’s still early) is over. After a protracted period in which Challengers director Luca Guadagnino appeared to be playing a game of cat and mouse his American Psycho remake, Lionsgate has finally pinned the filmmaker down just in time for CinemaCon. That’s where the filmmaker made an appearance live via video and confirmed that his take on the Brett Easton Ellis novel is real.
In the filmmaker’s own words, he said: “we are really working hard to bring to the screen a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, a book that I deeply love that is something that influenced me so much.”
Guadagnino also stated that Scott Z Burns, the writer behind the adapted screenplay, is “doing an incredible job” and that “the script is coming out very handsomely.”
He also added that conversations are underway with “very exciting performers to play the leads.”
More of a tease than anything else, then, but an official tease at least (which came via Dark Horizons).
Read more: American Psycho and its phantom street protests
Given how Guadagnino has been playing coy with American Psycho even as recently as a couple of months ago, at least we know it’s happening and can add it to the continually shifting slate of projects that he plans to direct. The next of which we think is an adaptation of the DC Comics war hero, Sgt Rock.
That project was rumoured to be starring Colin Farrell the last we heard, with plans to shoot it this summer. Where that leaves American Psycho we don’t know, but a late 2025 or spring 2026 shoot seems likely.
When it comes to American Psycho, we have questions of course. The primary one being whether Guadagnino has locked down the services of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the film’s score. After listening to the Challengers soundtrack on repeat, the duo doing a take on American Psycho has just rocketed up to the top of this writer’s wishlist. Question two: how does Guadagnino plan to distinguish his remake from Mary Harron’s brilliant 2000 take on the novel (pictured above) that starred Christian Bale?
Austin Butler was rumoured to be in place as the film’s lead as far back as last October, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to see if that materialises into something official.
When we do hear more though, we’ll let you know here.
