Guillermo del Toro’s next for Netflix after giving the streamer two big hits this year seems to be a Frankenstein movie. A fan of the character since long back, the production is expected to start in mid-2023 and is to star Oscar Issac(Moon Knight, Dune).
Guillermo’s and Netflix’s collaborations in 2022 were both critical darlings- the horror series ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ and the stop-motion film ‘Pinnochio’. While the fact that the streamer hasn’t renewed the series for a second season has irked fans, this news of a Frankenstein movie is a piece of welcome news.
Set in Eastern Europe in the 19th Century, the film will reportedly follow the story of Dr Pretorious, who needs to track down Frankenstein’s monster–who is believed to have died in a fire forty years before–in order to continue the experiments of Dr Frankenstein.
Frankenstein monster’s copyright is originally owned by Universal Studios much like most other such monsters. It is well-known how the studio tried to make the films into a connected universe called the Dark universe. However, after the commercial failure of films like Dracula: Untold and Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’, the plans were dropped. Since the story of Frankenstein falls under the public domain, it is possible for del Toro to make a film regarding the same for Netflix.
The basic plot of Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this did not become the perfect specimen he imagined that it would be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general. It would be interesting to see del Toro’s interpretation of the character and more importantly if he is making it a pure horror film or giving it a different genre altogether.