Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi in the 2025 film Frankenstein

If there was an ultimate ranking of influential horror monsters, Frankenstein’s creature would surely be well up there.

The monster originated in Mary Shelley’s 1818 Gothic novel, which introduced the world to the iconic creation, who was formed from a hotchpotch of parts that are fused together by the character Victor Frankenstein.

As well as being the inspiration for the “mad scientist” trope, Shelley’s Frankenstein novel was later adapted for the big screen on countless occasions, leaving a permanent mark on the horror genre in general.

Guillermo Del Toro is the latest director to put his unique stamp on Frankenstein, with a much-hyped Netflix adaptation starring Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth.

Like Frankenstein himself, Del Toro had to play scientist when he was making the film, pulling together a lifetime of inspiration, putting a new spin on a well-done concept, and throwing in some unexpected scares along the way.

For those who’ve already seen and loved the movie, we’ve pulled together some surprising facts on how Del Toro’s Frankenstein was made…

Guillermo Del Toro has actually been fixated with Frankenstein since he was a child

Guillermo Del Toro and Jacob Elordi pictured behind the scenes of the film Frankenstein

Like the cousin who’s… um… 300 years older than you, Del Toro has such affinity with Frankenstein novelist Mary Shelley, he feels as though she’s family.

Rather than mustering up a faux interest in the story in exchange for that fat Netflix cheque, the director has been thinking about Frankenstein since he was 11 years old.

“The most important figure from English legacy is, incredibly, for me, a teenager by the name of Mary Shelley, and she has remained a figure as important in my life as if she were family,” he has said.

“And so many times when I want to give up, when I think about giving up, when people tell me that dreaming of the movies and the stories I dream are impossible, I think of her.”

Del Toro has grown up thinking about Shelley’s work, and has even referred to it as his version of the Bible.

“I wanted to make it my own, to sing it back in a different key with a different emotion,” he previously explained.

Del Toro’s Frankenstein film had been cooking for a while, as it’s been over a decade in the making…

Guillermo Del Toro pictured with Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth on set

The Oscar-winning director was already plotting his big screen Frankenstein adaptation a decade ago.

As far back as 2010, he spoke with Collider about how he was planning to adapt what he described as his “favourite novel in the world”

…but there was originally a different actor in the role of Frankenstein’s creature

In that same interview, Del Toro spoke about his frequent collaborator – contortionist and actor Doug Jones - saying he would be playing the creature.

Jones, however, had doubts about the role as he had the classic “big-boned, lumbering” creature of previous Frankenstein adaptations in mind, which he didn’t feel was suited to his slighter physique.

After that, Andrew Garfield was lined up for the role of Frankenstein’s monster

Former Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield was the next actor lined up to play the creature, but he dropped out far down the line due to “scheduling conflicts” after the 2023 Hollywood........

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