‘American Psycho’ Didn’t Need a Sequel and It Doesn’t Need a Reboot

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Mary Harron’s film, American Psycho, based on Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, has surprisingly become more appreciated over time. Released in 2000, it launched Christian Bale’s career, inspired tons of internet memes, and helped bring back ’80s fashion and culture. Today, people often quote lines from the movie without even knowing where they come from – it’s become a classic, like Shakespeare or Orwell. So, it’s surprising we’ve never seen a sequel in theaters. Hollywood has been waiting for 25 years to capitalize on the film’s continued popularity.

Honestly, the whole 80s revival vibe feels done, and that super-groomed look is just… normal now. So, can a new take on this story really work? It’s tough because the 2002 sequel vanished from everyone’s memory, the 2013 TV show fizzled out, and thankfully, those rumors about Margot Robbie playing the lead were apparently just that – rumors. It’s not about her, it just shows how much trouble this project has had getting off the ground. The biggest problem? Most of these attempts just don’t get the source material or the main character. That’s why Bret Easton Ellis, the book’s author, seems to hate every new version. And you know what? While I don’t always agree with everything Ellis says, he’s spot on about this. He knows that story, and it’s clear most of these projects don’t.

The ‘American Psycho’ Sequel Too Awful for Theaters


Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment

A remake of American Psycho is in the works, directed by Luca Guadagnino, but this isn’t the first time someone has tried to bring the story back to the screen. Many people have even forgotten about the 2002 sequel, American Psycho II: All American Girl – including its stars, Mila Kunis and William Shatner! Interestingly, the American Psycho name was added to that sequel’s script after it was finished, as the studio tried to create a larger film series. Even earlier, the author Bret Easton Ellis resisted having his character Patrick Bateman appear in a version of the 2000 film The Rules of Attraction, which was based on one of his other novels that first introduced Bateman.

Lionsgate bought the rights to adapt American Psycho for television, but it never materialized into a successful project. A TV series has been planned since the Obama presidency, and surprisingly, it’s still technically in development – it was never officially cancelled. This demonstrates how much the studio hoped the recognizable title would attract viewers. Interestingly, the most notable American Psychorelated media in over two decades isn’t a new film or show, but a meticulously recreated scene used by Kanye West to promote his album Yeezus*. It’s up to you to decide whether the fan-made recreation or the official sequel Lionsgate produced is more disappointing.

No, Patrick Bateman Is Not a “Sigma Male”


Lionsgate

Ellis was right to be concerned. Back in 2001, even before the first sequel was released on DVD, he predicted that Lionsgate would overdo it with American Psycho sequels, stretching the story into unconvincing situations until it resembled the Pink Panther movies (according to IGN). He explained that the book was deeply personal, stemming from his anxieties about becoming a man in a society he disliked. He wanted to belong, a feeling echoed by his character Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. He shared this on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in 2022.

It’s important to note that Bateman isn’t simply a version of the author himself. While Bret Easton Ellis never had violent fantasies, he did connect with Bateman’s underlying insecurity. Ellis portrays the character as secretly shy and feeling stuck, constantly seeking approval and using images from magazines to mask his fragile self-esteem. As we’ve discussed before, Ellis didn’t write the book to shock readers with the story of a killer, but to create Bateman as a satire of superficial men who are too afraid to go against the crowd. It’s a shame the online ‘manosphere’ doesn’t seem to get that.

“Why Would You Do This Book?”


Paramount Pictures

When rumors spread that Margot Robbie might play the lead role in a gender-flipped adaptation, there was a huge reaction. However, the idea likely wouldn’t have worked well. Bret Easton Ellis found the whole situation strange, noting how traditional ideas of masculinity were being twisted, with supposedly strong men adopting gay stereotypes. After observing Wall Street brokers, he felt driven to satirize their self-satisfied group, who seemed solely focused on wealth. They obsessively competed over fashion and grooming. Ellis was so critical of the novel’s bleak and disjointed nature that he questioned any director considering adapting it, asking them why they would even want to.

Harron and her writing partner understood the story’s satire, even though many readers and viewers missed its subtle points, which continued to frustrate her. Patrick Bateman perfectly represents the insecure, harmful side of ‘bro culture,’ trapped in his own daydreams within a brutally competitive world. Changing Bateman’s gender would likely defeat the purpose of Ellis’s novel. Instead, it would necessitate reimagining the character as something completely new and exploring the flaws and struggles of modern women.

Updating the story for today—with modern dialogue and familiar tropes like the stereotypical tech entrepreneur—would likely result in a predictable and dull slasher film set in Manhattan. A remake featuring an actor who looks like Christian Bale repeating lines about 80s music would just be a shallow imitation. Guadagnino’s approach is still unknown, but hopefully he’ll follow Mary Harron’s lead and deliver a film with a sharp, original commentary on society, just as Bret Easton Ellis intended.

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2025-11-07 16:21