Netflix And Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein Casts A New Monster After Andrew Garfield's Exit
Back in March 2023, the news broke that filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was in the midst of casting a new film version of "Frankenstein" that he was slated to write and direct. At the time, it was said that Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth were set to star and that Andrew Garfield was to play the Monster. According to actor Doug Jones (who has worked with del Toro on several feature films), the director had long been at work on a "Frankenstein" movie that was meant to visually resemble Bernie Wrightson's "Frankenstein," a heavily illustrated printing of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel made by Marvel Comics back in 1983. At the time of Jones' comments, however, he was slated to play the Monster himself, as the actor commented on what "my look" would have been. That Wrightson-inspired version eventually evolved into the version mentioned above, which is being produced for Netflix.
Entertainment Weekly has since reported that Garfield has dropped out of del Toro's "Frankenstein" due to a scheduling conflict. The film's Monster will instead be played by Australian actor Jacob Elordi, the tall drink of water who exploded onto the cinematic scene in 2023 with "Priscilla" (in which he played Elvis Presley) and "Saltburn" (in which he played a handsome shirtless man). He had previously gained attention for his role as Nate in the salacious TV series "Euphoria" and for his appearance in the three popular "The Kissing Booth" movies.
Elordi's casting was confirmed by a Tweet from Netflix that merely read "Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' is coming soon to Netflix." EW confirmed that Isaac would be playing Dr. Frankenstein, but the other actors' roles are officially up in the air for the time being.
Elordi the Monster
Clearly, del Toro wants a certain physique for his Monster, no matter which version of the "Frankenstein" story he's working on. Jones is famously 6' 4" and rail-thin. Pair Jones' physique with an extensive mime background, and you have an actor who has become an expert in playing non-human roles. Andrew Garfield isn't as tall — he's 5' 10" according to cursory internet searches — but he is notably thin and possesses a long neck, meaning del Toro wants a lanky Monster. With Garfield out, del Toro has landed Elordi, who stands 6' 5" and who has worked as an underwear model. Rest assured, del Toro wants his creature to be tall, dark, and gruesome.
"Frankenstein" will be the fourth media project del Toro has developed for Netflix. He previously co-directed a stop-motion animated version of "Pinocchio" and produced the TV show "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities." The filmmaker also created and produced the animated series "Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia," which has spun off into the shows "3Below: Tales of Arcadia" and "Wizards: Tales of Arcadia" (along with a feature film called "Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans").
A longtime fan of "Frankenstein," del Toro included James Whale's 1931 film adaptation in his 2022 Sight & Sound poll. Indeed, del Toro has devoted much of his career to stylistic genre exercises wherein the filmmaker has indulged himself in recreating the types of horror, noir, and sci-fi movies he loved as a kid. "Frankenstein" appears to merely be the latest of these self-indulgent exercises (joining films like "Crimson Peak," "Pacific Rim," and "Nightmare Alley"). However "Frankenstein" turns out, one can rest assured del Toro will give it his own stylistic spin.
"Frankenstein" has yet to receive a release date.