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So here’s a weird one. It was reported back in December that Austin Butler would be playing the role of Patrick Bateman in a new movie adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho for director Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria, Challengers), but those reports are now being disputed by none other than Bret Easton Ellis himself.
On a recent episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, the writer of the original American Psycho suggested that Austin Butler hasn’t actually signed on to play Patrick Bateman in the new American Psycho movie. In his own words, he suggests the report is “fake news.”
“I have a feeling it’s fake news,” Easton Ellis mused. “I heard somewhere, from someone, that there are no contracts. Austin Butler hasn’t signed anything to play Patrick Bateman. Luca doesn’t have a deal. Scott Burns, who is supposed to write the screenplay, doesn’t have a deal either.”
The author continued, “From various sources that I have, this is just fake news that was put out there to see how an audience is going to react.”
“If it does exist, I am not involved,” he adds. “I have nothing to do with this. I might get some money if they do this, but I am not involved creatively on any level, and that is all I know.”
The original report about Butler’s involvement in Guadagnino’s American Psycho came courtesy of Variety back on December 11, 2024, a very reliable source for movie news. But Easton Ellis’ comments line up with recent comments made by reporter Jeff Sneider, who suggested that the announcement was “more about making Lionsgate look a little bit more attractive on paper as an acquisition target than it was about an actual movie that’s going to happen.”
Stay tuned for more on this developing story as we learn it.
In the novel, “A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale in the 2000 movie), hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.”
The above quotes from Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast were transcribed/relayed by World of Reel.
Pictured: Austin Butler in ‘The Dead Don’t Die’