Austin Butler Reportedly Taking on Starring Role in Luca Guadagnino's 'American Psycho'

Austin Butler played the King of Rock and Roll in "Elvis" and a psychopathic aristocrat in "Dune: Part Two." Now, reports say, he's poised to bring a new interpretation to "American Psycho," the next film for "Queer" director Luca Guadagnino.

"While there had been rumors that Jacob Elordi was being eyed to play Patrick Bateman," Variety recalled, "that casting didn't come to pass."

However, the entertainment magazine added, "Elordi and Butler have something in common, having both played very different versions of Elvis in movies by Sofia Coppola ('Priscilla') and Baz Luhrmann ('Elvis'), respectively."

"While the first film starring Christian Bale and directed by Mary Harron has gained a following over the years, sources say that rather than a remake, Guadagnino's film will be a new adaptation of Ellis' novel," Deadline reported when news of the project first broke.

The original "American Psycho" was directed by Mary Harron and stars Christian Bale, who plays main character Patrick Bateman, a young and sexy Manhattan investment banker who becomes a serial killer.

This isn't the first time Guadagnino has remade a cult classic. Back in 2018, he made his version of the 1977 giallo "Suspiria."

Guadagnino has a number of upcoming projects in the pipeline following the success of "Call Me By Your Name," his tennis film "Challengers" from earlier this year, and now "Queer," for which star Daniel Craig has been winning raves.

The prolific filmmaker "just wrapped the shoot of 'After the Hunt,'" Variety added, "starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield."

The logline for that film, per IMDb, reads as follows: "A college professor finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light."

Check out the trailer for the original 2000 movie version of the Brett Easton Ellis novel below.