Will Drew Starkey Play Patrick Bateman?

The rumour-mill is in full swing after Drew Starkey let slip that he had seen the script for Luca Guadagnino‘s upcoming adaptation of the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis book American Psycho.

In a recent interview with GQ, Starkey had “no comment” as to whether he has any involvement with the adaptation. While he remained tight-lipped about his involvement, he did let slip that he had seen Guadagnino’s “amazing” script. Quickly realising his error, he said: “Fuck! I’ve read the script, but Luca’s my friend. I think I’ve read all of his scripts.”

Starkey starred in Guadagnino’s 2023 film, Queer, opposite Daniel Craig, so it comes as no surprise that speculation is swirling around his involvement in the Oscar-nominated director’s upcoming project.

Guadagnino’s adaptation was first announced in 2024, and Ellis has since said that numerous high-profile actors “have turned it down.” The author further teased that the film will be “completely different” from Mary Harron’s 2000 adaptation of American Psycho, written by Harron and co-writer Guinevere Turner, which starred Christian Bale as homicidal investment banker Patrick Bateman. Harron’s adaptation also starred Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe and more. It grossed $34 million globally from a budget of $7 million and is one of the horror genre’s most iconic and thematically rich contributions.

Read more book adaptation content here

A direct-to-video sequel, titled American Psycho 2, by director Morgan J. Freeman, followed in 2002, starring comedy star Mila Kunis. Its only connection to the first adaptation was a brief touch upon Bateman’s death, and Ellis and Kunis have expressed denouncement and embarrassment over the film.

The upcoming Lionsgate film will be produced by Frenesy Films and executive produced by Sam Pressman through his company Pressman Film.

While there is no release date for Guadagnino’s adaptation yet, a new Ryan Murphy production based on Ellis’ 2023 novel The Shards is airing new episodes every Thursday at 9 pm ET on FX and Hulu.

While speculation continues around Starkey’s involvement in American Psycho, he has three confirmed projects set for release later this year, including the fifth and final season of Outer Banks on August 20th, and Onslaught, an A24 slasher-action film which opens in early September. Apple TV series Lucky premiered on July 15th.