Guillermo Del Toro Provides Update On His Upcoming Frankenstein Movie

Director Guillermo del Toro known for Pacific Rim and Pan’s Labyrinth recently provided an update on his upcoming Frankenstein film.

Del Toro appeared at Collider’s 10th anniversary IMAX 3D screening of Pacific Rim where he participated in a Q&A session and shared that Frankenstein was the next movie he is working on.

He said, “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.”

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“And 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,” he continued.

The director then confirmed who’s part of the cast for the film, “It’s Oscar Isaac, Andrew Garfield, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, and we’re working on it.”

Garfield, Isaac, and Goth were previously reported to be in discussions to take part in the film by Deadline back in March. The outlet also reported that del Toro was not just directing the film, but he was also writing it.

Details about del Toro’s vision for Frankenstein are fleeting with Deadline’s Justin Kroll reporting, “It is unknown whether his version would be a period pic or set in modern times. Also unknown is who would be playing Doctor Frankenstein or his creation; it is believed Goth would be playing the doctor’s love interest.”

However, What’s On Netflix did report that it will be a period piece, “Set in Eastern Europe in the 19th Century, the story of Dr. Pretorious, who needs to track down Frankenstein’s monster- who is believed to have died in a fire forty years before–in order to continue the experiments of Dr. Frankenstein.”

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It’s likely Del Toro will respect Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as he previously said it was his “favorite book of all time.”

On top of that he noted that Frankenstein’s creature was one of his favorite monsters of all time alongside Gillman, Nosferatu, Xenomorph, and Ollie’s Werewolf.

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It’s also quite likely he might draw inspiration from Bernie Wrightson’s depiction of Frankenstein as del Toro has repeatedly shared Wrightson’s drawings on social media back in July 2016.

And here’s more.

Del Toro has been working on the project for some time as well. Back in December 2022, he informed the Variety Awards Podcast, “Well, I’m working on a monster movie; I cannot say the title because it may change, and I could end up making something else. But right now, I’m writing and designing. And we have for the last couple of years. Hopefully, it’ll be next, but anything can happen.”

As far as the Wrightson connection, What’s On Netflix reports Netflix “first optioned Elizabeth S. Wrightson’s Frankenstein in March 2022. This is optioning the visual representation that Bernie Wrightson developed for the character who sadly passed away in 2017.”

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Actor Doug Jones who played Abe Sapien in del Toro’s Hellboy movies as well as the Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth and the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water previously informed Collider about what del Toro’s vision for Frankenstein was.

He explained, “But it was told to me, Guillermo is a big fan of Bernie Wrightson, and a friend of Bernie Wrightson, and Bernie had illustrated a version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and all of the images of Frankenstein’s monster in that, that’s what he was going to pattern my look after. Which was more emaciated, little skinnier, little more pathetic looking. And yet, had an unnatural physical prowess, an unnatural athleticness to him. He was sewn together with spare parts of a couple different bodies. Very bony face, long, stringy, drawn hair.”

Jones added, “I never went through a makeup test myself for it. But I did go to the creature shop, Spectral Motion, who was developing the look for him at the time…I was there for something else, and Mike Elizalde, the owner of the shop, said ‘I gotta show you something’. Then he unveiled a head and shoulders bust of me with this monster makeup built on it. It was like, honestly, my eyes welled it. It was so hauntingly beautiful, and it did pay reverence to Bernie Wrightson’s artwork and gave you a different-looking Frankenstein’s monster than what you’re used to.”

The film is expected to stream on Netflix, but will likely have a limited theatrical release.

Are you looking forward to del Toro’s vision for Frankenstein?

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