Development
In 2007, Guillermo del Toro said that a project which he "would kill to make" would be a faithful "Miltonian tragedy" version of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein , citing Frank Darabont's "pretty much perfect" script for Kenneth Branagh's 1994 film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein . [8] In January 2008, he revealed that he was then in the process of crafting drawings which he hoped to use as a basis for the world of the film, and that, additionally, he had begun taking script notes but stopped once the WGA strike occurred. [9] The following month, del Toro said of his vision:
What I'm trying to do is take the myth and do something with it, but combining elements of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein without making it just a classical myth of the monster. The best moments in my mind of Frankenstein, of the novel, are yet to be filmed [...] The only guy that has ever nailed for me the emptiness, not the tragic, not the Miltonian dimension of the monster, but the emptiness is Christopher Lee in the Hammer films, where he really looks like something obscenely alive. Boris Karloff has the tragedy element nailed down but there are so many versions, including that great screenplay by Frank Darabont that was ultimately not really filmed. [10] [11]
Later that year, in September, the film was set up through del Toro's three-year first-look picture deal at Universal Pictures, alongside a slate of films he was announced to direct including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Slaughterhouse-Five and Drood. [12] Del Toro cited Bernie Wrightson's 1983 Frankenstein illustrations as inspiration, and said the film would not be a direct adaptation of Shelley's novel, but rather "an adventure story that involves the creature." [13] [14] Del Toro wanted Wrightson to design his version of the Creature. [15]
In 2009, del Toro stated that production on Frankenstein was not likely to begin for at least four years. [16] Despite this, he had already cast frequent collaborator Doug Jones in the role of the Creature and begun initiating makeup tests with the actor. [17] [18] Jones later commented that the project was shelved due to Universal's future plans for their Dark Universe franchise. [19] At Comic-Con 2010, del Toro told Collider that the story was his "favorite novel in the world". [20] In 2013, del Toro expressed public interest in casting Benedict Cumberbatch for the role of the Creature. [21] In 2014, del Toro said that he would like to do versions of both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, and that Universal chairperson Donna Langley had approached him several times about getting it going but that he was reluctant to do so because it is his "dream project". [22]
In 2016, del Toro said of his efforts to make the film:
Frankenstein to me is the pinnacle of everything, and part of me wants to do a version of it, part of me has for more than 25 years chickened out of making it. I dream I can make the greatest Frankenstein ever, but then if you make it, you've made it. Whether it's great or not, it's done. You cannot dream about it anymore. That's the tragedy of a filmmaker. [...] You landed a 10 or you landed a 6.5 but you were at the Olympics already, and you were judged. [23]
In 2020, in an interview promoting the film Antlers (2021), del Toro stated that if he had the funding, he would make an adaptation of Frankenstein that would span two to three films due to the book's complexity and changing points of view. [24]
In 2023, the project was revived by Netflix, with whom del Toro had signed a multi-year deal to produce projects. Following the win of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) at the 95th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, Variety revealed that he was set to write and direct the feature with Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth in early talks for potential roles. [25] In September, del Toro revealed that filming was scheduled to commence in February 2024, and that Christoph Waltz had been added to the cast. [26] In January, Jacob Elordi replaced Garfield for the role of the Creature, due to scheduling conflicts that had resulted from the SAG-AFTRA strikes. [27] [28] Del Toro had spent nine months designing the look of Garfield's Creature but they were scrapped when he departed, leaving only nine weeks for him to redesign the look for the taller Elordi. [29] Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Christian Convery, and Charles Dance joined the cast in undisclosed roles. Dance previously portrayed the father of Frankenstein in the 2015 film Victor Frankenstein . [28] [30] In April 2024, del Toro announced Ralph Ineson had been cast in the film in a "pivotal" cameo appearance. [31]
Del Toro explained about taking his own approach to this adaptation: "What I find beautiful is that when you create a universal myth, whether it's Frankenstein, Pinocchio, Dracula, or Sherlock Holmes, the myth itself rises so far above the original material that any interpretation is equally faithful if done with sincerity, power, and personality. If you think in terms of fidelity to the canon, you would be completely paralyzed." [32]
Filming
Principal photography began on February 12, 2024, in Toronto, and concluded on September 30. [30] [33] Additional filming took place at the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Hospitalfield House in Arbroath, Angus and Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire, in September 2024. [34] [35] Del Toro stated that it would not be a horror film, but an incredibly emotional story. [36]
Oscar Isaac, who plays the lead character of Frankenstein, says the film is "this very European story, but told through a very Latin-American, Mexican, Catholic point-of-view. So, it was just high passion all the time". [37]
