Butler Casted in New “American Psycho” Remake

Guess who’s back!? Apologies to my three readers for my absence. I’ve been busy moving to Dallas, and believe it or not, I do have a full time job. But there was some intriguing casting news that I had to share my thoughts on.

On December 11th, Variety announced that Austin Butler has been cast in Luca Guadagnino’s remake of American Psycho. Butler will be taking on the iconic role of Patrick Bateman, which was previously played by the legend himself, Christian Bale.

Before I jump into my thoughts on this casting, whichever actor was picked to play Patrick was already going to have some big shoes to fill. Bale’s portrayal of Bateman in the 2000 cult-classic is, in my opinion, one of the best performances of his career. Not only was Bale this suave, charismatic character, but he did a phenomenal job becoming a disturbing, menacing force with his line delivery and disturbing kills.

Rumors originally circulated that Australian actor Jacob Elordi was going to be crowned the winner to follow in Bateman’s footsteps. Elordi is most famous for his time on the hit HBO show, Euphoria, and the thriller Saltburn. Should we like that movie or not?

I believe Elordi might have been the better choice. Not only does he have the looks, but he showed in both of his famous roles that he can bring that disturbing character out. This balance is needed to portray Patrick Bateman since this is a complex character fans hold to a high standard.

This is why I think Butler is a bold casting. While I have grown to love Austin Butler as an actor, I do have my concerns. People were not impressed with his Oscar-nominated role as Elvis Presley. I also want to point out that most fans thought Elordi did a better job in this role for Priscilla. Butler for some reason kept hanging onto this accent, worrying fans further when he played Feyd-Rautha in Dune: Part Two. However, this role is where Butler showed off the chops necessary to portray Patrick Bateman. He played one of the best and most disturbing sci-fi villains we have seen in a decade, and he did it very well.

However, other than this character, Butler hasn’t really taken any other roles to show that he can handle this sort of part. Butler usually plays the laid-back, stoic hero, and he nails those characters. Everyone knows that Butler can act, and he will probably do a fine job in this remake, but I still have my reservations.

Theoretically, they could have found a better actor, and this could just be a “hot name” choice to make sure that tickets sell.