Ever since Luca Guadagnino boarded the “American Psycho” remake last October, the guessing game over who might play Patrick Bateman has turned into something of an industry obsession. However, a few names in particular refuse to go away: Austin Butler, Jacob Elordi, and Patrick Schwarzenegger.
Here’s a twist — and this should explicitly be filed under “rumor.” Since it’s coming from The Sun, which has a 50/50 track record when it comes to casting scoops, there’s no choice but to take it with a grain of salt.
That said, it would make sense for Luca Guadagnino to want to gender-swap the main role in his upcoming adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho.” The outlet claims Margot Robbie is reportedly in talks to star as Patrick Bateman.
According to The Sun, Robbie, 35, is in “advanced discussions” to star in a remake — reboot, whatever you want to call it — of the controversial 2000 film and Ellis’ novel. The original starred Christian Bale as the notorious serial killer Bateman.
Based on the 1991 novel by Ellis, “American Psycho” follows an image-obsessed investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer. The novel and film were accused of sexism upon release, and twisting the narrative by having a female actress take on the lead role of Bateman would certainly calm the waters.
Then again, the 2000 film was helmed by a female director, Mary Harron — and it still faced sexism claims.
Guadagnino’s “American Psycho” features a script by Scott Z. Burns and is said to be a total reimagining of the source material, one that places greater emphasis on the novel’s erotica rather than the horror satire of the original. During press for his new film, “After the Hunt,” Guadagnino kept mum about the whole thing.
For now, Guadagnino is tied up with other projects, including “Artificial,” a feature tackling Sam Altman and OpenAI for Amazon, which is set to release next year. “American Psycho” could very well be next, but nothing’s been confirmed yet.