While he may not be the most prolific filmmaker in Hollywood and beyond, Guillermo Del Toro would easily be described as one of the most passionate, and it’s specifically that passion that has fueled his countless efforts to spearhead a classic Universal monster movie. That still hasn’t happened yet, with the studio’s Dark Universe still not fully formed in scope, so the director partnered with Netflix for a new feature based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel that will presumably give him free rein on the visuals. Now, it looks like Del Toro has a trio of huge names lined up to join his newest feature, in the form of a pair of MCU stars and a modern day Scream Queen.
No doubt still celebrating his Best Animated Feature win at this year’s Oscars for his Netflix Pinocchio adaptation, Guillermo Del Toro seems to be taking strides with his next meticulously crafted live-action horror feature. According to Deadline, producers are in early talks to bring in Moon Knight’s Oscar Isaac, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Andrew Garfield, and Ti West’s X and Pearl star Mia Goth. Nothing is super official just yet, and the streaming giant hasn’t confirmed, but that kind of casting news could instantly put the filmmaker’s Frankenstein near the top of the most anticipated Netflix movies on the way.
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At this still early point in the process, Del Toro is reportedly still toiling away on bringing the script together, though it’s not entirely certain how he’ll be adapting Mary Shelley’s iconic story, as far as whether it will be faithfully set in the historical timeline, or if it will be more of a modern reimagining. It’s reported that the actors haven’t yet received any formal offers to join the cast, but that the director has indeed met with each of them. It’s said that each is interested and inclined to join in on the monstrous fun.
Mia Goth — whose horror creds also include A Cure for Wellness, 2018’s Suspiria remake, Marrowbone and new-to-2023 release Infinity Pool — is understandably believed to be in line to take on the role of Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s love interest, though the context of their romance is up to anyone’s imagination. As much as I’m sure Del Toro would love to turn Goth into his own version of the Bride of Frankenstein, the specifics of that character and other details fall into copyrighted territories, so he’ll maybe need to stick closer to the source material in that respect.
Meanwhile, it's unknown who would be playing the maddest doctor of them all, Victor Frankenstein, between Isaac and Garfield. It's also not known exactly who the other actor would be portraying, though it's safe to bet that an Igor-esque assistant would be involved. Considering his highly acclaimed performance in FX's Under the Banner of Heaven, Garfield would also be a solid choice for whatever community leader eventually steps in to try and thwart the doc's resurrection-minded efforts, and/or to destroy the abomination that's eventually created. But then he's also tall, so he'll probably be the Monster.
News of this project may or may not conflict with other upcoming movies and shows that the rumored star trio have lined up. Just this week, Oscar Isaac was announced as a lead in Amazon Studios' drama Helltown, which will explore Kurt Vonnegut's early adult life before becoming a legendary author. Also this week, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh are set to co-star in a new romantic comedy feature called We Live in Time. And then fans can expect to see Mia Goth at some point in the near-ish future in the third film of Ti West's southern fried porn trilogy MaXXXine.
Not to mention the fact that Del Toro himself is reportedly working on another stop-motion animated feature called The Buried Giant, for which he's currently co-writing the script, and is set to eventully direct. Given how long it takes to pull that kind of movie together, horror fans would no doubt like to see him bring Frankenstein to the operating table first.
We'll have to wait and see if and when Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein will come alive...aliiiiiive...but there are lots of ways to utilize a Netflix subscription until then, so don't miss out!
