Guillermo del Toro has reimagined Frankenstein (2025) as a sweeping and emotional epic that challenges what it means to be human. The Oscar-winning filmmaker, joined by stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth, spoke at a recent press conference about crafting a film that is both personal and universal.
A Monster with a Soul
Del Toro has called Frankenstein his church and the Creature his messiah. He discovered Mary Shelley’s story at age eleven after first seeing Boris Karloff’s 1931 performance at seven. “I understood in Karloff what a martyr and a messiah meant,” he said. “The humanity of the creature and the inhumanity of the world stayed with me.”
That connection became the emotional spine of his long-awaited adaptation. “It was about forgiveness and acceptance,” Del Toro explained. “When things start to fall apart in life, you reflect. Frankenstein became about my father and me, then about me and my children.”
Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein: The Artist and the Tyrant
Frankenstein. BTS – (L to R) Jacob Elordi as The Creature and Oscar Isaac as Dr. Victor Frankenstein on the set of Frankenstein. Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.
Oscar Isaac brings Victor Frankenstein to life as both visionary and villain. “For me, the question is not why we live, but how,” Isaac said. “Victor has no doubts. He is a man who believes he can play God.”
Del Toro described Victor as a magnetic and Byronian figure who seduces everyone around him until his arrogance consumes him. “Every tyrant believes himself to be a victim,” Del Toro said. “They say, poor me, while destroying everything they love.”
The actor and director affectionately referred to the project’s code name, Prodigal Father, a fitting metaphor for a man who must face his creation.
Jacob Elordi’s Creature: Born Beautiful, Broken by the World
FRANKENSTEIN. Jacob Elordi as The Creature in Frankenstein. Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.
Jacob Elordi delivers a performance that redefines the cinematic Creature. “Every line he speaks is something I have asked myself,” Elordi said. “I get to be Job asking God why.” He recalled reading a key line in the script that instantly convinced him he had to play the role.
To capture the Creature’s physicality, Elordi studied Butoh, the Japanese dance of death, and observed animals to rediscover movement and innocence. “I watched my dog. She gave me life,” he said with a smile.
Del Toro and prosthetics artist Mike Hill worked together to design what the director called “a newly minted soul.” Hill explained, “We were not making a monster. We were making a person. The eyes had to carry the soul.”
The transformation required ten hours in makeup across more than fifty sessions, yet Elordi called it “one of the great experiences of my life.”
Mia Goth as Elizabeth: The Heart of the Film
FRANKENSTEIN. Mia Goth as Elizabeth in Frankenstein. Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.
Mia Goth’s Elizabeth is more than a supporting character. Del Toro described her as “the most intelligent character in the movie” and an emotional reflection of Mary Shelley herself.
Goth said she found the character through her wardrobe. “Once I started to see the fabrics and the story they were telling, I understood Elizabeth,” she explained. “The costumes forced me into her mindset. Restricted, elegant, and strong.” Her insight reflects the film’s larger theme of love and constraint coexisting.
The Poetry of Creation
Every department, from Tamara Deverell’s production design to Alexandre Desplat’s score, serves Del Toro’s vision of Frankenstein as a melodrama of the soul. Desplat described a waltz that plays during Victor’s experiment, explaining that Del Toro wanted to capture the trance of creation instead of fear.
Del Toro’s collaboration with Desplat follows a simple rule. “If I do not cry, it is not ready,” he said. “Emotion is the new punk.” He believes that embracing feeling, not irony, is the ultimate rebellion.
A Love Letter to Mary Shelley
FRANKENSTEIN. Christoph Waltz as Harlander in Frankenstein. Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2025.
Del Toro spoke passionately about Mary Shelley’s courage. “She was a punk,” he said. “At sixteen, she escaped across the channel with Percy Shelley. The romantics believed life itself was the enemy, and they lived accordingly.” His adaptation fuses her biography with his own.
He likened adapting the novel to marrying a widow. “You must respect the late husband,” he said with a grin, “but on Saturdays, you make it your own.”
For Del Toro, Frankenstein is not horror but compassion. “I hope whoever is left standing at the end of all this is still human,” he said. “Forgiveness and acceptance make us human.”
A Legacy of Love and Fear
Frankenstein arrives as the culmination of Del Toro’s lifelong fascination with misunderstood creatures. From Pan’s Labyrinth to The Shape of Water, his monsters have always reflected humanity’s broken beauty. “The other is you,” he reminded the audience. “Every time you debase the other, you debase yourself.” That philosophy pulses through every frame of this film.
Release and Outlook
Frankenstein will open in select theaters on October 17, 2025, followed by a global release on Netflix on November 7, 2025. With powerful performances, exquisite design, and a score that waltzes between grief and grace, the film promises to be a haunting masterpiece about creation, consequence, and connection.
“Being emotional is the new punk,” Del Toro said. And if that is true, Frankenstein might just be his most rebellious work yet.
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by:Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz
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