Summary

  • Guillermo del Toro is set to direct a new adaptation of Frankenstein, a project he has wanted to do for 50 years.
  • The film will star Oscar Isaac, Andrew Garfield, Christoph Waltz, and Mia Goth.
  • Del Toro's unique approach to sympathetic monsters makes him the perfect choice to bring the complexities of Frankenstein's creature to life.

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein adaptation receives an update from the director just seven months after an initial casting report. The classic story of Mary Shelley's influential 1918 novel has been adapted many times, leading to the creature becoming an enduring and often-revisited figure in pop culture from Hollywood's earliest years. The celebrated director acclaimed for Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, The Shape of Water, and Pinnochio's adaptation will be produced by Netflix, reuniting with the company after his successful and distinct retelling of the puppet who wished to be a real boy.

As reported by cast in key roles for Frankenstein, Del Toro has opened up about the current status of his adaptation. The director not only reaffirmed the currently cast stars and revealed that he was aiming to begin filming in February 2024, but explained the production was a project he was keen to undertake for a number of years, and had only just worked up the courage to press forward. Check out del Toro's honest explanation below:

I'm doing Frankenstein. We're working on it. We start shooting in February, and it's a movie I have been wanting to do for 50 years since I saw the first Frankenstein. I had an epiphany, and it's basically a movie that required a lot of growth and a lot of tools that I couldn't have done 10 years ago. Now I'm brave or crazy enough or something, and we're gonna tackle it. It's Oscar Isaac, Andrew Garfield, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, and we're working on it.

Guillermo del Toro Is A Perfect Choice To Bring Frankenstein Back To Life

The monster lurks in the shadows in Frankenstein

Del Toro's Frankenstein is the latest in a line of movies that reimagine a monster that has become a staple in pop culture for new audiences. 2023 has seen two vastly different reimaginings of Dracula with Renfield and The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu remake starring Bill Skarsgard as F.W. Murnau's iconic Count Orlok. With Chloe Zhao's Dracula and Radio Silence's currently undisclosed Universal Monsters movie in development, new life has been breathed into some of cinema's most classic monsters.

What makes Del Toro's Frankenstein stand out among these productions, however, is what his vision can bring to the movie. While the director's impressive handling of visual style and effects may leave potential filmgoers eager to see the film, Del Toro is also a storyteller who is keen on exploring the inner struggles of monsters and more inhuman beings, rather than making viewers fear them, with The Shape of Water and Pinnochio centering on these sympathetic creatures. With Del Toro's sympathetic view of Hollywood's creatures, it is certain the director can both fully explore the complexities around Frankenstein's monsters' struggle, while also showing the side that warrants such fear without completely demonizing it.

With Del Toro's history of crafting sympathetic monster movies that question who is truly worthy of being considered human, Frankenstein is a perfect project for the director. While the monster does wreak havoc on his creator's life, there is also a sense of sorrow surrounding what is its lonely existence, leaving plenty of room for the director to create a fully-rounded exploration of the patchwork being. With Del Toro suggesting a February filming date, cinemagoers eyes are sure to be fixed on production in order to get a glimpse at how the creature will look in Del Toro's vision.

Source: Collider