Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein at a glance:
- The movie is led by Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi
- Frankenstein will premiere this November
- The official trailer promises a variety of visual wonders
The official trailer for Frankenstein, the film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s tale about the mad scientist and his monster, proves that Guillermo del Toro still has a lot to offer for gothic horror fans.
From Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau to Alejandro Amenábara’s The Others, gothic horror has a grand tradition in cinema history. In 2025, the genre will get another resurgence. Guillermo del Toro, the mind behind Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy and The Shape of Water, has created a reinterpretation of Frankenstein for Netflix – and we believe it may be one of the best films from the streaming giant.
In recent years, gothic horror has been experiencing a revival, with Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu paving the way. Not to mention Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn or Yórgos Lánthimos’ Poor Things, which clearly play with gothic aesthetics. What’s more, The Bride by Maggie Gyllenhaal and an adaptation of Wuthering Heights from Fennell are in the pipeline.
Del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein marks his third collaboration with Netflix . The Mexican director has already created two projects for the streaming giant – an animated retelling of a fable about Pinocchio and Cabinet of Curiosities, a horror anthology miniseries.
When will Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein be released?
The film will premiere on Netflix on Friday, 7 November 2025 . Take a look at the poster below, which gives us our best look yet at the monster:
Frankenstein is del Toro’s passion project. The director first mentioned it in 2008, admitting that he had been dreaming of adapting Mary Shelley’s novel since childhood. At that time, he noted that it wouldn’t be a faithful adaptation but a retelling of the classic tale .
I’m not doing ‘Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.’ I’m doing an adventure story that involves the Creature. I cannot say much, but it’s not the central creation story, I’m not worried about that. The fact is I’ve been dreaming of doing a ‘Frankenstein’ movie since I was a child. The one thing I can promise is, compared to Kenneth Branagh, I will not appear shirtless in the movie!
In 2022, in an interview for Variety Awards Podcast , Guillermo del Toro revealed:
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.
Netflix
In October 2023, during the conversation with Collider , the director officially announced that he’s working on the Frankenstein movie for Netflix:
I’m doing Frankenstein. We’re working on it, we start shooting on it in February. It’s a movie I’ve been wanting to do for 50 years since I saw the first Frankenstein and I had an epiphany and is basically a movie that requires a lot of growth and a lot of tools that I couldn’t have done 10 years ago, 20 years ago and now I’m brave or crazy enough or something and we’re going to tackle it.
What will the plot of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein be about?
The novel, considered an early example of science fiction, tells the story of the young man Victor Frankenstein. After his mother’s death, obsessed with alchemy and modern science, he tries to create artificial life. Using body parts and electricity, Victor makes a monstrous creature, which he abandons in panic after it awakens in the lab.
Netflix
For now, it’s unclear how faithfully del Toro has adapted the famous novel. The official log line for the movie reads:
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Who will star in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein?
Frankenstein’s cast is an impressive line-up. The mad scientist Victor Frankenstein is portrayed by Oscar Isaac , best known for his performances in Ex Machina, Inside Llewyn Davis and Dune. The Creature is played by Jacob Elordi , one of the most popular young actors known for Euphoria , Saltburn and Priscilla.
The horror cast includes Mia Goth , best known for Ti West’s horror trilogy, X, Pearl and MaXXXine, but also for the disturbing Infinity Pool by Brandon Cronenberg and Emma, a charming adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel. In Frankenstein, she stars as Elizabeth Lavenza – a fiancée of Victor’s younger brother.
The film also features Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) as Leopold Frankenstein, Victor’s oppressive father, and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) as Henrich Harlander, Elizabeth’s maternal uncle.
Netflix
In the movie you can also spot:
- Lauren Collins as Claire Frankenstein, Victor’s late mother
- Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front) as William Frankenstein, Victor’s younger brother
- Lars Mikkelsen (Sherlock, The Witcher , Ahsoka ) as Captain Anderson
- Ralph Ineson as Professor Krempe
- David Bradley (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, the Harry Potter films) as Blind Man
- Burn Gorman as Fritz
Is there a trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein?
Yes! Netflix has already published the first trailer for the new Frankenstein movie:
Here’s the first teaser for the film released at Netflix Tudum 2025: The Live Event.
Del Toro’s films are famous for their unique visual style, combining the grotesque with gore and poetic beauty. The director is eager to blend fairy tales with gothic horror and infuse his stories with religious motifs and mythical tropes. He’s also a big fan of practical special effects.
Even in less successful films, del Toro has provided stunning visuals. Thus, we’re looking forward to more trailers, which will give us a taste of the wonders to come.
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Author: Weronika de Oliveira, Entertainment Writer, Tech Advisor
Weronika is an Entertainment Writer at Tech Advisor, where she covers topics related to TV shows, streaming, and movies. With an MA degree in Film Studies, her areas of expertise range from classical and postmodern cinema to contemporary films, series, and pop culture.
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