Although theDark Universewas canceled after the poor reception of Tom Cruise’sThe Mummy, that hasn’t stopped the Universal characters from being brought back to life. Leigh Whanell’sThe Invisible Manwas a surprise hit, and the director is looking to capitalize again with 2025’sWolf Man.There is still an appetite for monsters, even if they aren’t part of a connected universe.Guillermo del Toro’sFrankensteinis looking to continue the trend, andthe early returns have been promising. If things go according to plan, the film could potentially become part ofits own universeapart from the other monster films.
A big appeal to this film is del Toro directing andOscar Isaacplaying scientist Victor Frankenstein. For those unfamiliar with the story ofFrankenstein, it revolves around an ambitious scientist looking to create life, instead making a monster that shares his last name. Stepping into the role of the monster is up-and-coming starJacob Elordi. While an official look at Isaac playing Victor has not been released, set photosposted by UnBoxPHDgive us the next best thing.
Jacob Elordi Confirms Casting as Frankenstein’s Monster in Guillermo Del Toro’s Netflix Adaptation
Hot property actor Jacob Elordi has spoken out about joining Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Netflix Frankenstein film.
Rounding out the cast for del Toro’sFrankensteinisMia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Eneson. The latter has a “pivotal cameo”, accordingto Guillermo del Toro. Details on who is playing who hasn’t been officially revealed, but Goth is expected to step into the role of The Bride, a reanimated body designed to be Frankenstein’s monster’s wife. With Goth becoming a horror icon in her own right thanks to theXtrilogy directed by Ti West, it makes a lot of sense for her to be cast in the film.
What Is Known About del Toro’s Frankenstein So Far
Del Toro’sFrankensteinisskipping movie theaters entirely and releasing straight to Netflix. This follows the trend that started with del Toro’sPinocchio,but that film ended up getting a physical release through the Criterion Collection. Del Toro’s passion for making aFrankensteinmovie dates back decades, and after a series of false starts, he’s finally getting his chance. In a2010 interview with Collider, he revealed his favorite book is Mary Shelley’sFrankenstein, andhe talked about what makes the story so inspirational through its use of fear.
“My favorite novel in the world is Frankenstein. I’m going to misquote it horribly, but the monster says, ‘I have such love in me, more than you can imagine. But, if I cannot provoke it, I will provoke fear.’ As a child that was disenfranchised from everything, and that was in a world that was the wrong size, run by the wrong people, the wrong morale and the wrong rules, I felt completely outside of that, and I wanted some measure of control, and the measure of control I found was through fear.
The reality is that I feel that fear is a very spiritual emotion. In a world where we are so pragmatic and materialistic, fear is the only emotion that allows even a sophisticated person to believe in something beyond. We are such skeptics that we find it difficult to believe in God and angels and a spiritual afterlife, but a moment of fear makes our spirit so vulnerable that it allows us to believe in something beyond that. It’s also a boundary, and there’s nothing that defines who you are more than boundaries, whether you cross them or not, in every aspect of your life, and horror is a really great boundary.”
Guillermo del Toro Laments His ‘Doomed’ 2015 Gothic Tom Hiddleston Flop
“The last thing you want to do is promote it as horror,” del Toro said of his misunderstood Gothic romance.
WhileFrankensteinis one of the original Universal monsters, this film isn’t part of any larger universe. While that could disappoint some, Universal has had a lot of trouble getting a universe off the ground. At one point,Victor Frankenstein,starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, was meant to launch a franchise,but the failure of the film led to shifting plans. There have been manyFrankensteinadaptations over the years, and del Toro’s will certainly have a distinct stamp on it. The director has a love for horror, so this one could end upleaning more into the horror elementsthan other adaptations from the past.
