Bret Easton Ellis Says Major Stars Have Turned Down ‘American Psycho’

More than 25 years later, Christian Bale‘s performance in American Psycho leaves some big shoes to fill.

After Deadline exclusively announced director Luca Guadagnino and writer Scott Z. Burns‘ adaptation of the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis back in 2024, the author recently shared an update on the casting process for the upcoming feature.

“A couple of high profile actors, whom I can’t name, have turned it down,” said Ellis on his podcast. “I think maybe because they don’t want to be in the shoes of Christian Bale.”

Ellis noted that Scott Z. Burns has since completed new draft of the script after several actors passed on the previous version.

“From what I’m told, this movie is completely different from Mary Harron’s 2000 movie. It’s a completely different take, and going to bear no resemblance to that movie,” he added.

The Lionsgate film will be produced by Frenesy Films, and executive produced by Sam Pressman, the son of Edward R. Pressman, producer of 2002 original movie, through his company Pressman Film.

In 2000’s American Psycho, Bale starred as homicidal investment banker Patrick Bateman, the literary character that Ellis created as a satirical take on masculinity. The Harron-helmed adaptation also starred Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe and more.

With American Psycho in the works, Ellis’ 2023 novel The Shards is getting the Ryan Murphy treatment with an FX series starring Kaia Gerber also in development.