Guillermo del Toro‘s highly anticipated adaptation of Frankenstein won’t be brought to life on Netflix until November, but the Oscar-winner still had plenty to tease about his version of Mary Shelley’s classic tale while attending the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Del Toro engaged in a conversation with the film’s Academy Award-winning composer, Alexandre Desplat, while on hand in France, and what the famed filmmaker revealed might surprise fans of the genre: the acclaimed movie director believes his Frankenstein movie is not a horror film… at least that’s the idea he conveyed while in Cannes. Del Toro said:
“Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Does it have really scary scenes?’ For the first time, I considered that. It’s an emotional story for me. It’s as personal as anything. I’m asking a question about being a father, being a son. I’m not doing a horror movie — ever. I’m not trying to do that.”
Del Toro and Desplat collaborating again on Frankenstein virtually guarantees that their Netflix film will be nothing short of a must-see event. Both artisans walked away with Oscars for their work on their 2017 team-up, The Shape of Water, and the French composer was quick to concur with del Toro’s remarks about not approaching Frankenstein as a horror film. Desplat said of his upcoming score (below):
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“Guillermo’s cinema is very lyrical, and my music is rather lyrical, too. So, I think the music of ‘Frankenstein’ will be something very lyrical and emotional. I’m not trying to write horrific music.”
Del Toro quickly added:
“We’re finding the emotion. And what I can say is, for me, it’s an incredibly emotional movie.”
A Classic Comedy Inspired Guillermo del Toro to Sympathize With Frankenstein’s Monster
Eight months have passed since the first unofficial image of the brilliant mad scientist (Oscar Isaac) behind the creation of his infamous Monster in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein leaked online. Unquestionably, Universal’s Boris Karloff-led 1931 version heavily influenced del Toro, who admitted at Cannes that it was a 1955 classic movie that actually inspired the Oscar-winning filmmaker to approach the Frankenstein Monster with sympathy. Del Toro said during the same conversation at the French film festival:
“The first time I thought I was going to avenge the creature was when Marilyn Monroe is coming out [of the movie] in ‘The Seven Year Itch’ with Tom Ewell, and she says the creature just needed somebody to like him. I fell in love with Marilyn, and I fell in love with the creature in that scene at a very early age. And I thought, you know, all we have is people that look at people the wrong way. That’s what we have in this world.”
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein will drop on Netflix in November. In addition to Isaac, who is portraying the titular Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the stacked cast includes Euphoria’s own Jacob Elordi as the Monster, who is still riding the wave of his brilliant performance as Elvis Presley in 2023’s Priscilla.
Mia Goth will take on the iconic role of Elizabeth from Mary Shelley’s 1818 book in Netflix’s Frankenstein, and Christoph Waltz stars as Dr. Pretorius, who was brilliantly portrayed by Ernest Thesiger in Universal Pictures’ must-see 1935 sequel, Bride of Frankenstein. The Netflix film’s cast also includes Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Christian Convery, and Charles Dance.
Source: Variety
