Lionsgate has announced that Challengers (Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor) director Luca Guadagnino is confirmed to direct his adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ best-selling novel American Psycho.  

The script is being penned by Scott Z. Burns for Frenesy Films and is confirmed to be a fresh iteration of Ellis’ 1991 novel rather than a remake of the first film, originally released in 2000. Christian Bale first donned the prestigious suit of Patrick Bateman, the titular serial killer businessman, in Mary Herron’s version written by herself alongside Guinevere Turner.  Sam Pressman, son of the original movie’s producer Edward R. Pressman, will serve as producer of the upcoming version.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson spoke about Guadagnino’s vision in a statement saying, “We are thrilled to add another elite filmmaker to our upcoming slate. Luca is a brilliant artist, and the perfect visionary to create a whole new interpretation of this potent and classic IP.”

The news comes ahead of the release of Guadagnino’s next film, the A24-distributed Queer starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey as love interests, slated to hit theaters in late November. Other films under Guadagnino’s belt include horror movies Bones and All (Timotheé Chalamet, Taylor Russell) and Suspiria (Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth) and the 2017 coming-of-age film Call Me By Your Name (Chalamet).  He’s also into post-production on his forthcoming project After the Hunt starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield.