Luca Guadagnino in Talks to Direct ‘American Psycho’ Adaptation

Thanks to Luca Guadagnino, Patrick Bateman will be back.

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The auteur is in final negotiations with Lionsgate for a new interpretation of iconic novel “American Psycho,” the studio announced Friday, October 18. The Bret Easton Ellis book was first brought to the screen in 2000. Christian Bale led the original film alongside Guadagnino’s frequent collaborator Chloë Sevigny.

Scott Z. Burns (“Extrapolations,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”) will adapt Ellis’ novel. Rather than a remake of the 2000 feature, Burns’ screenplay will be a new adaptation of the IP. Mary Harron directed the original film from a screenplay by Harron and Guinevere Turner.

Guadagnino’s iteration of “American Psycho” will be produced by Frenesy Films and executive produced by Pressman Film’s Sam Pressman, the son of Edward R. Pressman, who was a producer of the first adaptation.

“We are thrilled to add another elite filmmaker to our upcoming slate,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson said. “Luca is a brilliant artist, and the perfect visionary to create a whole new interpretation of this potent and classic IP.”

Guadagnino has been on a novel adaptation kick: The filmmaker most recently directed “Queer” based on William S. Burroughs’ unfinished novella, and told IndieWire that he hopes to bring “Buddenbrooks” by Thomas Mann to the screen. Guadagnino also plans to reunite with his “Challengers” actor Josh O’Connor for “Separate Rooms,” an adaptation of the novel by late author Pier Vittorio Tondelli.

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Guadagnino additionally is in post-production on “After the Hunt,” which stars Sevigny, Julia Roberts, and Andrew Garfield.

As for “American Psycho” author Ellis, he is set to make his own directorial debut with “Relapse” starring “Stranger Things” breakout Joseph Quinn. Ellis’ latest semi-autobiographical novel “The Shards,” set in 1981 Los Angeles against the backdrop of a serial killer’s reign, is set to be adapted into a limited series for HBO . That series will be directed by “Dream Scenario” filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli.

Ellis has previously written four films prior to “Relapse,” including Paul Schrader’s “The Canyons” and Tim Hunter’s “Smiley Face Killers.”

Guadagnino is represented by CAA, Range Media Partners, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Deadline first reported the news.