Jacob Elordi, known for his roles in Saltburn and Euphoria, takes on his most physically demanding role in Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein, portraying the Creature in del Toro’s reinterpretation of the classic Gothic tale. The Creature is a complex being brought to life by the scientist Victor Frankenstein’s radical experiments in creating human life, assembled from various corpses into the form of an adult man but with the movements and speech of a child.
Crafting the Creature’s Unique Physicality and Voice
Elordi explained the creative freedom he had in shaping the Creature’s character during an interview in London.
“I had complete liberty to create [the Creature] the way that I saw it,”
he said, sharing how vivid images formed upon reading the screenplay before the practical work started.
To embody the Creature’s distinctive gait and posture, Elordi studied butoh, a form of Japanese dance marked by unnatural and deliberate movements.
“It was a lot of walking around in strange ways and watching myself in the mirror, and I’d go like this, and then I’d ask someone, ‘Does this look good?’ And they’d be like, ‘Definitely don’t do that.’ Or, like, ‘Too much.’ But just a lot of trial and error,”
he detailed, emphasizing the balancing act of responding to the script’s depiction of the Creature’s suffering and fractured body.
Developing the Creature’s voice was a similarly meticulous process. Elordi described how scenes showing Victor Frankenstein adjusting the Creature’s body parts influenced the vocal choices.
“When I think about the scene where [Isaac] constructs him, that actually has a lot to do with the movement and the voice, because you can see [him] move a trachea or something. What does that do, you know?”
he said.
Supporting Cast and Release Details
The film pairs Elordi with Oscar Isaac, who portrays Victor Frankenstein, a scientist both reluctant and unorthodox in his paternal role toward the Creature. The cast also features Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Charles Dance, adding depth to this eerie retelling.
Netflix will release Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein on November 7, 2025, inviting audiences into a dark, gothic world where the boundaries of life and identity are unsettled.
Anticipation and Impact of the New Frankenstein Adaptation
This fresh take on Frankenstein promises to explore themes of suffering and humanity through the Creature’s vulnerable yet unsettling existence. Elordi’s intense physical transformation reflects the tension and unease at the heart of the narrative, while del Toro’s direction highlights the complexity of creation and consequence. With a notable cast and a director renowned for his distinct style, the film is expected to make a significant impact on gothic horror cinema and viewers alike come its Netflix debut.
