Austin Butler to Take on Christian Bale’s “American Psycho” Role in New Adaptation of Controversial Novel

Austin Butler has found his next bloody role.

The Dune: Part Two star, 33, will be taking on the American Psycho part made famous by Christian Bale, according to Variety.

The upcoming Luca Guadagnino-directed film will not be a remake of the violent 2000 movie starring Bale, but a new adaptation of author and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 contoversial novel.

Related: Christian Bale's American Psycho Costars Initially Thought His Acting 'Was Terrible' While Filming

The new film is set to be released through Lionsgate.

Bale’s version is set in New York City in 1987 and sees the actor take on the role of Patrick Bateman — a charming Wall Street professional by day, and a raging serial killer by night.

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2019 with his Ford v Ferrari costar Matt Damon about their family’s favorite films of theirs, Bale admitted that his role in the comedic horror left his wife’s grandmother confused.

“When I first got married [to wife Sibi Bale], her grandma said, ‘So he’s an actor?’ ‘Yeah,’ she says. ‘Has he done anything? ‘Yeah, he did a film, it’s called American Psycho,’” he recalled. “So Sibi’s mom took her a copy of American Psycho.”

“Sibi’s mom hadn’t realized quite how many inappropriate moments there might be,” he continued, saying the family sped past those parts. “And then [Sibi’s mom] realized that almost the entire film is inappropriate. They got through it in 15 minutes.”

Related: Chloë Sevigny Felt 'Really Intimidated' by Christian Bale on American Psycho Set: His 'Process' Was 'Challenging'

For the 20th anniversary of American Psycho in 2020, director Mary Harron, along with Ellis, Bale and others from the film, gave an oral history published by MovieMaker.

During the conversation, Harron admitted Bale’s role almost went to another big name.

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“Obviously, I think [Leonardo] DiCaprio’s a great actor, but I thought he was wrong for it,” the director, 71, said. “I thought Christian was better for it, and I also thought, and I think my instinct was right on this, [DiCaprio] carried enormous baggage because he had just come off Titanic and I thought you cannot take someone who has a worldwide fanbase of 15-year-old girls, 14-year-old girls and cast him as Patrick Bateman,” she continued of the fictional serial killer.

Read the original article on People