Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2, The Shape of Water) finally started working on his long-gestating Netflix adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein earlier this year, and had reportedly already started to put an all-star cast together when the Hollywood strikes hit.
Netflix declined to comment at the time, but the fan-favorite filmmaker has now confirmed (via FearHQ.com) that the project is indeed moving forward with Oscar Isaac, Andrew Garfield, and Mia Goth in the lead role, and another A-lister has also been added to the ensemble.
During the 10th-anniversary screening of Pacific Rim (via Collider) over the weekend, del Toro announced that Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Alita: Battle Angel) was on board. though he didn't mention which part he'll be playing.
“I’m doing Frankenstein. We’re working on it. We start shooting in February, and it’s a movie I have been wanting to do for 50 years since I saw the first Frankenstein. I had an epiphany, and it’s basically a movie that required a lot of growth and a lot of tools that I couldn’t have done 10 years ago. Now I’m brave or crazy enough or something, and we’re gonna tackle it. It’s Oscar Isaac, Andrew Garfield, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, and we’re working on it.”
Waltz previously worked with del Toro on his recent stop-motion animated adaptation of Pinocchio, providing the voice of the villainous Count Volupe.
It's assumed that Isaac and Garfield will play the eponymous doctor and his Monster (though we have no idea which actor would portray which character), while Goth is believed to be playing Victor Frankenstein's love-interest, Elizabeth.
Del Toro will write and direct the film.
First published in 1818, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus has been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen, but there have been very few fully faithful takes on the story (the creature's appearance in the novel, for example, has never been accurately depicted).
With Del Toro behind the camera, it's probably safe to assume that this will stick as closely as possible to the book.
Just in case you're somehow unaware of the premise of the novel, you'll find a brief synopsis below.
"A young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, driven by vanity and thirst for knowledge, manages to give life to a creature whom he assembled from dead material. The creature turns out very ugly, and Victor abandons him in horror. Rejected by his creator and hated by mankind in general, the Monster devotes himself to destruction and revenge."