Before we dig into the alternate reality of a Johnny Depp-starring “American Psycho,” let’s explore the extended celebrity entourage of once-potential Patricks.

Indeed, Depp was the first actor considered for the role of Patrick Bateman. This was way back in 1992, shortly after producer Edward R. Pressman successfully bought the rights for the film. However, the pre-production phase of this project was met with a succession of stalemates. After it seemed “American Psycho” was going nowhere at all, Depp lost interest and pulled out.

Subsequently, body-horror auteur David Cronenberg was set to direct the film, with a script penned by Ellis himself. In an alluring twist, Brad Pitt was selected by the director to portray Patrick Bateman. In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone discussing the 25th anniversary of his notorious novel, Ellis went into excruciating detail on the admittedly hilarious ordeal, citing Cronenberg’s “strange demands.” These peculiar leanings included refusing to shoot nightclub scenes, restaurant scenes, and violence altogether. After continuous disagreements, the Cronenberg, Ellis, and Pitt iteration of “American Psycho” died.

A few years later, Harron was brought on board to helm the project. Though she immediately felt that Christian Bale was the perfect actor to play Patrick, Lionsgate, the studio behind the film, saw things differently. As such, they suggested that Harron consider Edward Norton for the role instead. In their eyes, casting a well-known actor was necessary in order to create adequate buzz. Ahead of the film’s April release, Harron told The Guardian that she and Lionsgate “had a huge battle over [the casting process]. They would’ve taken almost anybody over Christian.”

With Norton shot down by Harron, the studio decided to be sneaky with their next choice. Hot off of his dreamboat turn on “Titanic,” Lionsgate decided to send Leonardo DiCaprio a copy of the script and a $20 million offer. Surprisingly, he was game. This infuriated Harron, who felt that the teenage heartthrob was totally wrong for the role: “He’s not credible as one of these tough Wall Street guys,” she continued in The Guardian interview. “I did not want to deal with someone with a 13-year-old fanbase.” She was so against his casting that she flat-out refused to meet with him. 

When Harron seemingly won in her self-described battle against Lionsgate, Leo left to shoot “The Beach” instead. To his credit, he would play the perfect Wall Street antihero in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” 13 years later. But Lionsgate had one last option up their sleeve. They approached Ewan McGregor for the role, but the actor was persuaded by Bale himself to pass up the offer and let him have it. 

So, Harron’s first choice was now the last man standing. But what would have happened if the first actor optioned, Johnny Depp, actually performed the part?