When Will We Get To See Jacob Elordi’s Frankenstein?

Hot off the heels of Robert Egger’s Nosferatu featuring an unsettlingly sexy Bill Skarsgård as vampire Count Orlok, Netflix has released a new teaser for its upcoming Frankenstein reboot starring man of the moment Jacob Elordi. Following Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things last year, the monster renaissance continues… Here’s everything we know so far.

Netflix’s Frankenstein: Cast, Teaser & Release Date

Mary Shelley published her transcendent gothic novel in 1818, aged only 20 – though she started writing it aged 18. It began as a writing game in 1816: Mary had been travelling through Europe with her lover and future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley. In Geneva, the couple, along with companions John Polidori and Lord Byron, decided to compete to see who could write the best horror story. Mary, inspired by their recent travels through Germany (including to Frankenstein Castle, where alchemist Johann Konrad Dippel had conducted experiments a century earlier) and the group’s occult-ish conversations, set to work on a story about a scientist who created life and was horrified by the result, which would eventually be published as Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

It’s her best-known work by far, and has been adapted into countless films, plays, radio plays and even games. Frankenstein’s monster, meanwhile, is a pop culture mainstay – both in adaptations and as a standalone character disentangled from the story. The latest depiction? Netflix is working on an adaptation of the seminal story, directed by Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro and starring Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein with Jacob Elordi as his infamous monster. When he bagged the BAFTA for Best Director in 2018 for his gothic fantasy The Shape of Water, del Toro took the opportunity to thank Shelley for the inspiration he had mined from her work across his life and career so far, particularly in this Academy Award winning film which centres on a lonely janitor who stumbles across (and develops a relationship with) an amphibious creature held captive in a secret research facility. For his next piece, it’s straight to the source.

What Will Happen?

It’s believed del Toro’s Frankenstein will stay true to Shelley’s novel, telling the tale of Victor Frankenstein (Isaac), a brilliant but egotistical scientist pushing the boundaries of experimentation. But when he brings a monstrous creature to life, it spells the downfall both for the creator and his tragic creation.

That’s at least for the first half of the film. Rumours have also swirled suggesting there will be a renewed focus on Dr Pretorious, a character who first appeared in the Frankenstein story in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). These whispers suggest Pretorius will have a larger part to play in del Toro’s story, setting out to capture Frankenstein’s monster 40 years after he reportedly died in a fire.

Del Toro teased this himself: ‘What I’m trying to do is take the myth and do something with it, but combine elements of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein without making it just a classical myth of the monster,’ he said way back in 2008, before the remake was canned. In 2023, the project was finally revived by Netflix – but it remains to be seen whether the Pretorius focus will come with it.

The Cast

Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac are the Frankenstein headliners, starring as the monster and his creator respectively. Joining them will be Christopher Waltz, Mia Goth, Charles Dance, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley and Christopher Convery.

The cast and their characters is as follows:

• Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein
• Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster
• Mia Goth as Elizabeth
• Christoph Waltz as Dr Pretorious
• Felix Kammerer as Williams
• Lars Mikkelsen as Captain Anderson
• David Bradley
• Charles Dance
• Ralph Ineson as Professor Kempre
• Christian Convery as Young Victor

Elordi replaces We Live In Time star Andrew Garfield, who had to pull out due to scheduling issues.

Is There A Trailer?

Netflix teased Frankenstein at an exclusive preview event in Los Angeles last week, though the teaser sadly isn’t available online. According to Empire, the teaser focussed predominantly on Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein, introducing us to his steampunk lab with a tall-looking patchwork body lying on a surgery table. They also published the below first-look image.

Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in “Frankenstein” directed by Guillermo del Toro. (Ken Woroner/Netflix)

Where Was It Filmed?

Netflix’s Frankenstein was filmed in Toronto, Canada and Edinburgh in Scotland. The Frankenstein crew was reportedly spotted shooting on Edinburgh’s iconic Royal Mile.

Release Date

Frankenstein will be released in November 2025 – though it’s not clear just yet whether it’ll land in cinemas before it streams on Netflix.