Frankenstein Netflix release date is now official. Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited gothic reimagining will open in select theaters on October 17, 2025, before premiering worldwide on November 7, 2025.
Netflix unveiled the news with two teaser posters, offering a haunting look at both Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and the Creature (Jacob Elordi). The imagery hints at the tragic bond between creator and creation, setting the stage for one of Netflix’s most ambitious films to date.
About Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
Directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, the adaptation draws from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Unlike Hollywood’s flat-headed monster myth, this version promises a story steeped in grief, responsibility, and existential dread.
Logline:
Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both creator and creation.
Producers: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale, Scott Stuber
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, Christoph Waltz
A Monster Movie 30 Years in the Making
Del Toro has pursued Frankenstein for decades, waiting for the right creative and financial backing. After years of rejections from studios, Netflix finally gave him the space and resources to craft the version he always imagined.
This film isn’t just about science gone wrong, it’s about legacy, faith, suffering, and the wounds that echo through families.
The Story: Faith, Flesh, and Fatherhood
Set in the 1850s, the story follows Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Isaac) as he assembles a creature from the remnants of the dead in a crumbling Carpathian water tower. His workshop feels equal parts cathedral and crypt, designed to blur the line between invention and sacrilege.
The Creature (Elordi) resembles a broken statue pieced back together, pale and tragic. Unlike earlier portrayals, he isn’t driven by rage alone but by the desperate search for meaning: Why was he created? Why must he suffer?
Building a Gothic World
Production designer Tamara Deverell has built a visual landscape that feels mythic and theatrical, with sculpted lightning conductors, towering green-glass columns, and looming statues.
Oscar Isaac’s Victor is equal parts genius and torment. Del Toro famously directed him with the line: “Bone surgery is a lot like carpentry.”
Despite the darkness of the story, del Toro approached the set with humor, offsetting the gothic intensity with moments of warmth.
Casting Changes and Performances
Jacob Elordi wasn’t originally cast as the Creature. The role first went to Andrew Garfield, who left due to scheduling conflicts after the 2023 strikes. With little time to spare, Elordi stepped in, transforming the role with a presence equal parts physical and tender.
Makeup artist Mike Hill had just nine weeks to rebuild the Creature’s design for Elordi, after preparing for nine months for Garfield. The result is a performance defined by fragility and longing..
Influences and Inspirations
Del Toro filled the production with nods to the horror greats who inspired him. A sticker of Boris Karloff’s monster decorated his monitors, and Bernie Wrightson’s 1983 illustrated Frankenstein was kept close on set and in the actors’ trailers.
Yet this film isn’t a simple homage. As del Toro explains, it isn’t Shelley’s, Karloff’s, or Wrightson’s Frankenstein, but it couldn’t exist without them.
Supporting Cast and Roles
- Mia Goth as Elizabeth, whose fate is tied to both Victor and the Creature
- Charles Dance as Victor’s domineering father
- Christoph Waltz as Harlander, a war profiteer bankrolling Victor’s experiments
- David Bradley as the blind man who offers the Creature brief kindness
- Felix Kammerer as Victor’s brother William
- Christian Convery as young Victor
Each role deepens the themes of power, obsession, and consequence.
Themes: Creation, Suffering, and Rebellion
Mary Shelley’s original novel warned against unchecked science, but del Toro’s version places equal weight on broken families, grief, and faith.
The Creature is not only a scientific anomaly but a symbol of abandonment, mourning a world that offers him no answers. As in Pinocchio, del Toro’s vision asks what it means to be born into suffering.
Looking Ahead
With Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth at the forefront, and Guillermo del Toro finally realizing his decades-long dream, Frankenstein is shaping up to be a defining film for Netflix. Equal parts horror and heartbreak, it asks what it means to create, to destroy, and to search for meaning in a world built on suffering.
Release Date and Posters
- In select theaters: October 17, 2025
- On Netflix: November 7, 2025
Netflix’s teaser posters capture the gothic essence of the film: Victor’s relentless pursuit of creation, and the Creature’s sorrowful, statuesque form.
