American Psycho set for remake

[brightcove]970144873001[/brightcove]

In a move that could trigger the odd axe-murdering spree from fans of the cult original, Lionsgate has given the nod to Noble Jones to pen a remake of 2000’s American Psycho.

The tiny-budget reboot is only in the early stages of development, but we know that the film won’t be set to the backdrop of '80s Wall Street – instead, Jones intends to update the action to modern day New York City.

Latest Videos From

The original, itself based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel, follows the story of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy banker whose slick exterior hides a deranged, monstrous killer, and offers a pitch-black satire on the yuppie milieu of the time.

It memorably starred a heavily Brylcreemed actor called Christian Bale, who is apparently set to star in a new film about fruitbats or somesuch.

Despite finding a huge cult following, American Psycho did relatively poor business at the box office, pulling in just $15 million in the U.S. A woeful straight-to-video sequel in 2002 was notable only for finally pairing up Mila Kunis and William Shatner.

Lionsgate thinks the time is right for a revamp, but with helmer Jones only having second-unit director credits for The Social Network under his belt, will he have the experience to do justice to the source material?