Austin Butler to Take on Christian Bale’sAmerican PsychoRole in New Adaptation of Controversial Novel

Mar. 15, 2025

Austin Butler; Christian Bale.Photo:Miikka Skaffari/WireImage; Lions Gate/Kobal/Shutterstock

Miikka Skaffari/WireImage; Lions Gate/Kobal/Shutterstock

Austin Butlerhas found his next bloody role.

The upcomingLuca Guadagnino-directed film will not be a remake of the violent 2000 movie starring Bale, but a new adaptation of author and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 contoversial novel.

The new film is set to be released through Lionsgate.

Speaking to PEOPLEin 2019 with hisFord v FerraricostarMatt Damonabouttheir family’s favorite films of theirs, Bale admitted that his role in the comedic horror left his wife’s grandmother confused.

Christian Bale in ‘American Psycho’ - 2000.Lions Gate/Kobal/Shutterstock

Lions Gate/Kobal/Shutterstock

“When I first got married [to wifeSibi Bale], her grandma said, ‘So he’s an actor?’ ‘Yeah,’ she says. ‘Has he done anything? ‘Yeah, he did a film, it’s calledAmerican Psycho,’” he recalled. “So Sibi’s mom took her a copy ofAmerican Psycho.”

“Sibi’s mom hadn’t realized quite how many inappropriate moments there might be,” he continued, saying the family sped past those parts. “And then [Sibi’s mom] realized that almost the entire film is inappropriate. They got through it in 15 minutes.”

During the conversation, Harron admitted Bale’s role almost went to another big name.

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“Obviously, I think[Leonardo] DiCaprio’s a great actor, but I thought he was wrong for it,” the director, 71, said. “I thought Christian was better for it, and I also thought, and I think my instinct was right on this, [DiCaprio] carried enormous baggage because he had just come offTitanicand I thought you cannot take someone who has a worldwide fanbase of 15-year-old girls, 14-year-old girls and cast him as Patrick Bateman,” she continued of the fictional serial killer.

source: people.com