Christian Bale Thinks Making a New ‘American Psycho’ Movie Is ‘Brave'

I saw American Psycho when I was about 15 years old, which feels insane. It’s not that I hadn’t seen things equally as violent, but I certainly wasn’t equipped enough yet to understand the satire of the film. Despite watching the glorious special features on a DVD I was able to purchase from Walmart without anyone so much as batting an eye, many of the ideas just went right over my head. Then, someone at school heard I watched it and let me look at his copy of the book and— JESUS CHRIST.

The segment I read, which I will not recount in full, had something to do with acid (I think) and a gerbil. It was horrendous and made me look at the movie differently (which is probably for the best). What I read made it clear that what I was witnessing should not be taken lightly. Now, as an adult, I see that the director, Mary Harron, stripped the property of some of its meaner tendencies. A newer adaptation may not go that route, which already makes me feel a little uneasy, because we are getting another one.

Luca Guadagnino is directing a new take on the book, and I love Luca. I do think (and hope) that he would bring an equally satirical bend, but we’re a ways from finding that out or the film happening at all. It was announced a year and a half ago at this point and has yet to cast a lead, something that has allegedly been a bit of a headache for the production, according to the author of the book, Brett Easton Ellis. Allegedly, A-list actors have felt too intimidated to step into Christian Bale’s shoes. Now, the man himself is weighing in.

Bale was recently on the red carpet for The Bride and was asked about a new adaptation of American Psycho and who should star in it. Bale’s answer? Whoever is up for it. “Whoever wants to give it a shot, give it a pop,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “I loved making it with [director] Mary Harron so many years back, fantastic memories of it all. Bold choice of anyone to try to do a — I don’t know if they’re doing a remake or what, I don’t know anything else about it. But all the best to ‘em, I like brave people.”

A remake could certainly be brave, but hopefully just in the sense that they would be remaking a film that has become pretty iconic. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill, and you could make the argument that they don’t need to be filled at all. But this is Hollywood, and IP is the thing. So, someone, someday, will likely remake this film. It will happen. I just don’t need to see the sequence that I read all those years ago brought to life. No, thank you.