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Netflix's Tudum 2025 event unveiled the much-anticipated trailer for Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, the upcoming movie based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel.
While Shelley's classic Gothic novel has been adapted to the screen multiple times, Toro's take on Victor and his monster looks promising, considering his filmography with monsters and the horror genre.
The story follows a passionate scientist named Victor (Oscar Issac) who brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a scientific experiment that leads to his tragic downfall.
While Frankenstein is largely hailed as a horror tale, the story is much more than that. While announcing his film at the Netflix event, Toro discussed his fascination with Shelley's story and how it has plagued his mind for many years, until it finally became a reality.
I think it is almost poetic how Guillermo del Toro's passion in adapting the story parallels Victor's passion in bringing the creature to life. Toro mimics his film's protagonist in his creative pursuit and his hard work shines in the trailer itself.
More on this in our story.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has been a passion project for Guillermo del Toro
Anybody familiar with Guillermo del Toro's works knows that the director is obsessed with monsters and otherworldly creatures and they are often the main subject of his movies.
From The Shape of Water to Pan's Labyrinth, the director is most famously known for his hauntingly beautiful creations across the horror genre.
Considering Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most celebrated works in Gothic literature, it's no surprise that Guillermo del Toro was fascinated by Victor's monster and wanted to bring his version of the story to life.
At Netflix's Tudum 2025 event, Toro discussed how Frankenstein has been a passion project for him for a very long time:
“I wanted to make this film before even I had a camera, and I’ve been actively pursuing it now for 25 years.”
Hearing the director narrate his first brush with Shelley's story made me realise how it parallels Victor's story in the novel. With his scientific skills and electricity, Victor sets out on an adventurous path and vows to build a creature that he believes would be a boon to humanity.
Talking about his experience of reading Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro revealed:
“I first read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a kid and saw [star of the 1931 adaptation] Boris Karloff in, what became for me, an almost religious state. Monsters have become my personal belief system''
He called the movie a 'culmination' of everything that he has achieved in his career so far. While it took Toro this long to adapt Shelley's story, the seeds of his fascination can be seen throughout his filmography, as he further added:
“Exploring the relationship between humanity and monsters, creator and creation, father and son has consumed my stories again and again.''
After listening to this story, I couldn't help but imagine Toro as the Victor of his story, plagued by this artistic vision. This zeal to create something extraordinary almost consumed his life, but now he is finally getting a chance to realise that dream.
Oscar Issac, who will bring Victor to life in Frankenstein, even joked about this at the Netflix Tudum event:
"This is the story of a brilliant creator driven to the edge of madness [...] in his years-long pursuit bringing his creation to life — and I'm not talking about you [to Guillermo del Toro]."
The parallel is clearly visible and while Victor failed disastrously, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein trailer looks phenomenal and the audience is already excited to stream it on Netflix.
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