In case you are a horror fan who’s been living under a rock for the last three years, you may not have heard that Universal Pictures is relaunching each of their classic monster properties based on Victorian literary works. This initiative has been in place since the Dark Universe concept failed and it started with a fervor when The Invisible Man was released in 2020.
In 2023, Universal doubled the fun and gore when they reinterpreted Dracula twice. Now, as the year comes to a close, the next creature to have its night and its day has been decided. Coming up is Frankenstein’s Monster’s turn, and like the experiment that brought him to life, he has substantial electricity flowing into the effort.
Made for Netflix, the adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic is a passion project for renowned monster maker Guillermo del Toro, and he is joined by a cast of big names. Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth (Pearl), and Andrew Garfield are set to star, and their initially mysterious parts might be out of the bag before cameras even roll.
Per What’s On Netflix, unlike original predictions that Isaac was playing the doctor, Garfield was the Monster, and Goth was Dr. Frankenstein’s doomed fiancé, del Toro saw things differently. Instead, Garfield will be the scientist, Isaac his creation, and Goth will dig a little deeper than she has in her previous films and portray the Bride.
Del Toro disclosed more details at the tenth-anniversary screening of Pacific Rim, including the additional casting of Christoph Waltz. “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,” he said, referring to the version with Boris Karloff.
“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,” he added.
Still, del Toro proves time and again the vividness of his imagination and that he can strike an elegant balance between the sensational and grounded period drama. Where he takes the Modern Prometheus is fascinating to contemplate, but the consensus is he will respect the material, which is an avowed favorite of his.