Luca Guadagnino to direct new American Psycho adaptation

Italian film director Luca Guadagnino appears to have been tapped for another high-profile adaptation.

According to Deadline, Guadagnino is currently in talks with Lionsgate to bring a new interpretation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel American Psycho to screen.

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

American Psycho was considered both groundbreaking and controversial when it was first published in 1991, telling the story of an investment banker turned serial killer whose violent tendencies became increasingly sadistic and complex as the story continues.

The novel was adapted into a film starring Christian Bale in 2000 and late into a stage musical starring Doctor Who star Matt Smith.

Deadline reports that Guadagnino’s version will not be a remake but a new take on the source material.

This news comes as his adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ Queer, featuring former Bond star Daniel Craig and Love, Simon‘s Drew Starkey, makes the rounds at film festivals in the lead-up to its release in November, premiering at the London Film Festival earlier this week.

Guadagnino, best known for directing the Timothee Chalamet–led Call Me By Your Name and Challengers, featuring Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, and Zendaya, is working with screenwriter Scott Z Burns for the adaptation.

Burns has been credited on The Report, Side Effects, The Bourne Ultimatum, and most recently created the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations.

Guadagnino received an Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name in 2017 and Challengers opened at No.1 at the box office, receiving strong reviews, and has since become the director’s biggest box office hit to date after making $93.9m worldwide.

In fact, he shows no signs of stopping, having just wrapped up production on After The Hunt starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield.

The prolific director has also been attached to an adaptation of Pier Vittoria Tondelli’s 1989 novel Separate Rooms, working once again with Josh O’Connor and Léa Seydoux.

Guadagnino has also been linked to a biopic of Scotty Bowers, known throughout Hollywood for procuring male prostitutes for closeted gay and bisexual film stars for decades, dating back to the 40s.