Love it or hate it, American Psycho‘s scathing critique of yuppie culture, not to mention Christian Bale‘s chilling performance, cemented the 2000 film as a cult classic. And while some may argue a masterpiece should never be touched, Lionsgate seems to think otherwise. A recent report from Jeff Sneider in his newsletter suggests the studio is planning a modern-day reboot and is currently busy looking for a writer to turn its plans into reality.
Lionsgate’s modern American Psycho remake will reportedly reboot the film for a contemporary audience, with a fresh new take on the character of Wall Street sociopath Patrick Bateman. As Sneider wrote in his recent edition of The Insneider newsletter, “Lionsgate is plotting a new American Psycho movie and showing interest in a remake of The Dead Zone.”
RELATED: Christian Bale is Going Bald to Play Frankenstein in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Untitled Film
Unsurprisingly, details surrounding Lionsgate’s planned American Psycho reboot remain scarce, leaving the plot and the casting of the modern-day Patrick Bateman a mystery. While decades have passed since the original film (which was set in the 80s), the whole yuppie greed, designer obsession, and dark side of privilege stuff probably hasn’t gone anywhere.
Harron’s 2000 film American Psycho is a near-perfect adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel. It tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker working on Wall Street, who descends into a series of brutal murders as his sense of detachment and loathing for the world intensify.
It’ll be interesting to see how the studio plans to translate that into today’s world and what kind of messed-up stuff Patrick Bateman gets up to, fueled by his own twisted desires. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of his novel back in 2016, author Bret Easton Ellis wrote an article for Town & Country magazine to contemplate the frequently asked question of what Patrick Bateman would be upto now. “So what would I tell fans who ask me where Patrick Bateman would be now, as if he were actually alive, tactile, wandering through our world in flesh and blood?” Ellis wrote.
The author envisioned Bateman as “the founder of a number of dotcoms” in the mid-to-late ’90s. Fast forward to the 2010s, and Bateman, according to Ellis, would be working in Silicon Valley fixture, hobnobbing with tech giants, indulging in French Laundry feasts, sporting a Yeezy hoodie, and teasing girls on Tinder.” Lionsgate’s American Psycho reboot has not been officially confirmed, and there is currently no word on who is attached to the project or how far along development is.
