Picture: Getty Images
One of the biggest upcoming Netflix movies we know about is a new horror film by director Guillermo del Toro. Known as Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein, or, more recently, Prodigal Father, the upcoming Netflix movie began filming in March 2024. Here’s what’s known so far about it.
Let’s quickly rewind to bring you up to speed. Since 2020, Guillermo del Toro has worked exclusively with Netflix under an overall deal. He’s produced two major titles for the streamer thus far, with the Oscar-winning Pinocchio and the anthology horror series Cabinet of Curiosities (both released in 2022).
In early December 2022, in a chat with the Variety Awards Podcast, Guillermo del Toro told them about his next project, saying:
“Well, I’m working on a monster movie; I cannot say the title because it may change, and I could end up making something else. But right now, I’m writing and designing. And we have for the last couple of years. Hopefully, it’ll be next, but anything can happen.”
Fast forward a few days, and we first unveiled that the monster movie at Netflix would be Dr. Frankenstein with Deadline, then confirmed the project shortly afterward.
According to our intel, Netflix first optioned Elizabeth S. Wrightson’s Frankenstein in March 2022. This is optioning the visual representation that Bernie Wrightson developed for the character who sadly passed away in 2017.
The project has been in development in multiple locations before landing at Netflix, with Del Toro talking about the project as far back as 2008.
Gary Ungar and J. Miles Dale are producing the project, with Dan Laustsen serving as director of photography and Robin D. Cook and Denise Chamian casting the project. Jason Young is spearheading the project at Netflix.
Del Toro officially acknowledged the project himself at the Pacific Rim 10th Anniversary IMAX 3D Event in early October 2023, telling Collider:
“I’m doing Frankenstein. We’re working on it, we start shooting on it in February. It’s a movie I’ve been wanting to do for 50 years since I saw the first Frankenstein and I had an epiphany and is basically a movie that requires a lot of growth and a lot of tools that I couldn’t have done 10 years ago, 20 years ago and now I’m brave or crazy enough or something and we’re going to tackle it.”
Picture: Collider
What will Netflix’s Frankenstein be about?
Bernie Wrightson
The story will very much revolve around the classic tale of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s 1818 novel, adapted countless times over the decades.
The current logline for the movie, which is set during the 1800s, is as follows:
“Set in Easter Europe in the 19th Century, 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”
Who is starring in Netflix’s Frankenstein movie?
Pictures: Getty Images
When we first unveiled the project, we stated that Oscar Isaac was eyed for one of the primary roles of the project. Isaac has been a titan of Hollywood in the last decade, appearing in titles like Dune and Star Wars.
A follow-up Deadline article stated that Andrew Garfield (tick, tick… Boom!, The Amazing Spider-Man) and Mia Goth (Pearl, X) were in talks to star. Although Goth is still attached to the project, Garfield would later depart, with Jacob Elordi (The Kissing Booth, Euphoria) taking his place and playing the role of The Monster.
In October 2023, at the aforementioned Pacific Rim 10th Anniversary IMAX 3D Event, Guillermo del Toro confirmed all three castings and revealed that Christoph Waltz would star. Waltz recently starred in GDT’s Pinocchio, voicing Count Volpe. He’ll play Dr. Pretorius in this adaptation.
Further cast members for the movie now include:
- Charles Dance (Game of Thrones)
- David Bradley (Harry Potter, After Life) as Blind Man
- Lars Mikkelsen (Headhunter) as Captain Anderson
- Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth)
- Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front) as William
- Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes) as Chief Officer Larsen
- Joachim Fjelstrup (Itsi Bitsi) as Dr. Udsen
- Lauren Collins (Degrassi: The Next Generation)
- Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Office) playing a “pivotal cameo“
Some of the minor actors to feature include:
- Sofia Galasso
- Duff MacDonald
Where is Frankenstein in production?
Pre-Production
Filming Scheduled
Filming Ongoing
Post-Production
Our intel suggested that the movie was originally due to get underway with filming in the Summer of 2023. Sadly, that could not get going because of SAG-AFTRA started their strikes in July 2023.
Over that summer, we’d been scratching our heads with a consistently mentioned project called Prodigal Father. Thankfully, we connected that to this new Frankenstein. Whether it’s the full title or just a working title is unclear.
According to the DGC, “art and accounting” prep on the movie is due to begin in October 2023, again under the working title of Prodigal Father.
Picture: Guillermo del Toro
Recent updates on production sites like Ontario Creates currently list Prodigal Father to begin filming on February 21st, 2024, with it then scheduled to wrap on June 13th, 2024.
According to the DGC, production was pushed back by a couple of weeks and instead began on March 3rd, 2024. Filming is still listed to conclude by June 13th, 2024. The movie is set to be filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and will be partly filmed in London, England.
Post-production (both picture and sound) will continue again, according to DGC, through March 2025.
Throughout February 2024, in pre-production, Guillermo posted numerous times while in Canada, scouting for filming locations for the new movie.
The boat you can see in that final picture is set to play a major role in the movie. On May 1st, Mayor Olivia Chow held a press conference outside the set of the movie lauding the upcoming movie.
Twitter user Andrew Thomas caught some great snaps of filming on the upcoming movie in April 2024:
@andrewbent / X
On June 24th, 2024, Guillermo del Toro (sporting an Ultraman: Rising T-shirt) provided an update on filming, saying:
“LAST week of shoot in Toronto- the London and Scotland until October.”
When will Frankenstein be on Netflix?
With filming continuing into the end of 2024, any chance of a 2024 release is improbable, and post-production will continue through 2025.
We expect Frankenstein to be released on Netflix sometime in 2025, most likely in the second half at the earliest. This means we could see the film as part of Netflix’s Halloween 2025 line-up.
This isn’t Guillermo’s only new project coming up for Netflix.
Following his previous success in the stop-motion world with Pinocchio, the creator will tackle The Buried Giant for the streamer in the same animated format. In addition, we know GDT is also working on a vampire movie called Vampire Tapestry (which has not yet been confirmed by Netflix). Sadly, we’re still waiting on a renewal for Cabinet of Curiosities.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro attend The Three Amigos In Conversation presented by Netflix at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on January 06, 2023 in Los Angeles, California – Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Netflix
We’ll update this preview on everything we know about the upcoming Frankenstein project as soon as we get it. In the comments below, let us know if you’re excited about the new project.