Director Luca Guadagnino’s remake of cult classic American Psycho is not going to be gender-swapped despite online speculation and casting rumors.
Deadline first reported that, despite rumors Margot Robbie would be cast as a female Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale in the original, it’s officially not happening. There has been a lot of online speculation regarding who will be cast as such an iconic character, which has led to thousands of comments about a gender-swapped movie potentially happening.
American Psycho was originally released in 2000 and starred Bale as the psychopathic, wealthy investment banker with a huge ego and an uncontrollable bloodlust. It was adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’s novel titled American Psycho. Despite not earning terrific reviews upon its initial release, it has since found a wider audience who have been clamoring for more.
It was revealed a year ago that Lionsgate and Guadagnino (known for Challengers) have teamed up to reimagine the original movie directed by Mary Harron. There has been much speculation as to who will be the “American Psycho” with people pointing at Jacob Elordi or Finn Wittrock, but the production has been tight-lipped on who they have in mind.
Actress Chloë Sevigny previously pitched the director to reprise her role from the original. Sevigny played Bateman’s secretary Jean. “When I heard that [Guadagnino] was maybe doing it … I pitched to him that I should play Jean again, and that they do that reverse-aging on me,” stated Sevigny.
The original cast included Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe, Reese Witherspoon, Justin Theroux, and Matt Ross. Unfortunately, nothing has been confirmed on casting or about the potential of the former actors reprising their roles. Alongside Guadagnino is Scott Z. Burns (known for The Bourne Ultimatum), who is adapting Ellis’s book.
Guadagnino recently released After The Hunt, which has been met with widely mixed reviews and a disappointing 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, his other directorial projects, including Call Me by Your Name and Challengers, were highly acclaimed and performed significantly better at the box office.
Margot Robbie (known for Suicide Squad and Barbie) is officially not taking the role as Bateman, but she will be appearing in other projects, including an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which is going to be released next year.
- Release Date
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April 14, 2000
- Runtime
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101 minutes
- Director
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Mary Harron
- Writers
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Bret Easton Ellis, Mary Harron, Guinevere Turner