Christian Bale’s Greatest Movie Is Getting An Official Sequel
American Psycho, a film considered by many to feature Christian Bale’s greatest performance, is getting a sequel in the form of a new comic book adaptation. Deadline reports that the story of Patrick Bateman’s killing spree will be seen from a different perspective in the four-issue series, which will also include a contemporary story that serves as a direct sequel to the classic film. But this is not the first sequel to be attempted.
American Psycho is being adapted into a comic book miniseries, with the story of Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman told from a different perspective.
After the success of the original Christian Bale film in 2000, American Psycho 2 was released in 2002, starring Mila Kunis and directed by Morgan J. Freeman.
Apart from a flashback to the death of Patrick Bateman, the film bore no connection to the original and was decried by Bret Eason Ellis, author of the original novel on which the first film was based. Kunis herself denounced the film as an embarrassment and said a sequel should not be made.
This comic book American Psycho sequel, however, comes not only with permission to use Christian Bale’s likeness, but the approval of Ellis, who gave his blessing to the sale of derivative rights for the series. Those rights were sold by Pressman Films to Sumerian, who will be publishing the comic beginning in October of this year.
Written by Michael Calero (Quested), the art for the series is by Piotr Kowalski (The Witcher) and colorist Brad Simpson (Kong of Skull Island).
How Christian Bale’s character is connected to the new events of this American Psycho story is not yet clear, and that may be a reveal within the books themselves. According to the information that has been released by Sumerian so far, the comics will follow Charlie (Charlene) Carruthers, a millennial who spirals into violence amidst her social media obsession.
After the success of the original Christian Bale film in 2000, American Psycho 2 was released in 2002, starring Mila Kunis and directed by Morgan J. Freeman.
The description hints at Charlie’s discovery of “the truth about her dark nature” after she commits a string of killings following partying and drugs.
Michael Calero, who is writing the American Psycho series based on the Christian Bale film, is also the founder of Massive Publishing. He will have a booth on the main floor at San Diego Comic-Con this year, where he will be discussing the project.
The books will receive worldwide distribution to the comic market through Diamond Comic Distributors and to the book market via Simon & Schuster.
Sumerian, the publishing company releasing American Psycho, is adding the Christian Bale title to its release schedule following its purchase of comic book publisher and gaming company Behemoth Entertainment last year.
This comic book American Psycho sequel, however, comes not only with permission to use Christian Bale’s likeness, but the approval of Ellis, who gave his blessing to the sale of derivative rights for the series.
The company also has a movie division, Sumerian Films, whose American Satan saw distribution by Showtime and Miramax. The company is also producing a scripted episodic series—its first—called Paradise City, which streams in the US on IMDB TV, Tubi, and Amazon Prime, and in the UK on Pluto.
Seeing Christian Bale, or at least his likeness, return in the American Psycho comics will surely be an enticement to fans of the original film, who will surely be curious as to what a sequel approved by the original author will look like.
The new psychopath, Charlie, will probably be much more intriguing than the character Kunis wishes she hadn’t played, and we’ll be interested to see what happens with her next.
