Margot Robbie Circles Serial Killer Role Leonardo DiCaprio Turned Down

File this under: rumor that could actually happen. There is chatter about a gender-flipped American Psycho remake, with Margot Robbie being floated for the lead and Luca Guadagnino said to be circling as director. Nothing is locked yet, but if you feel your timeline wobbling, you are not alone.

So, what is actually being rumored?

UK tabloid The Sun kicked this off via a supposed film source. Grain of salt, obviously, but here is the gist:

'A remake of American Psycho is in the works and Margot [Robbie] is in the frame to play a female version of Patrick Bateman. Bret Easton Ellis's book and the 2000 film drew heavy controversy, especially around misogyny, and flipping the lead to a woman would change the angle on the violence.'

Important reality check: as of right now, no formal confirmation from Robbie, Guadagnino, or any of the trades. This is smoke, not fire. Yet.

Why this remake would be a minefield (and maybe interesting anyway)

American Psycho, both the book and Mary Harron's 2000 film, is a razor-edged satire of 80s Wall Street alpha maleness. Patrick Bateman is basically a human business card who worships status, surfaces, and violence. That hypermasculinity is the point of the critique — which is why flipping the character to a 'Patricia Bateman' invites a very different read. It could be gimmicky, or it could say something new about performance, power, and image culture.

Guadagnino's sensibility complicates things in a potentially good way. His work — from the glossy heat of Challengers to his in-the-works adaptation of Queer — tends to be sensual, sleek, and emotionally coiled. Margot Robbie slicing through a high-finance world in that register could play. Or it could whiff on what made the original sting. That tension is the whole conversation.

And yes, some folks are already pointing to pop culture examples that toy with women coded with 'toxic masculinity' — even James Gunn's corner of DC got name-checked via Emilia Harcourt. Take that as you will.

Full-circle moment for Robbie, if it happens

Back in May 2016, Vogue dropped a short called Australian Psycho where Robbie spoofed the film's opening, complete with a 'psychotically perfect' beauty routine. If she ends up headlining a feature-length remake a decade later, that is one tidy loop closing.

One more nugget from the same rumor mill: the insider claims Robbie's team and the folks involved are excited, the material would be a gritty flex for her, and the details are still being hammered out. Standard development talk, but worth noting.

Getting the 2000 film made was its own bloodbath

Worth remembering: 25 years ago, the original was a nightmare to finance. Leonardo DiCaprio was attached at one point. Director Mary Harron fought hard to cast Christian Bale, and when DiCaprio exited over a scheduling conflict, Bale got the role — and the movie finally moved. That scrappy birth kind of fits a film that still goes down like glass. In some ways, it feels even more pointed now than it did in 2000.

The original at a glance

• Director: Mary Harron
• Screenplay: Mary Harron, Guinevere Turner
• Source: 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis
• Cast: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Chloe Sevigny, Justin Theroux, Reese Witherspoon
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Budget: $7 million
• Box office: $34.2 million
• Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
• IMDb: 7.6

Where to watch right now

American Psycho (2000) is currently streaming on Peacock, Prime Video, and Paramount+.

Bottom line: if this remake lands, expect a lot of debate about what a 'Patricia Bateman' says — or doesn’t — about the world the story skewers. Until someone official speaks up, though, it’s a tantalizing what-if.