Netflix and Lionsgate aren’t the only ones with Frankenstein movies in the works. Warner Bros. also has a movie about the undead creature and his lovely Bride in production, and the Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed picture has built up a pretty sizable roster of actors.
Per Deadline, Women Talking’s Jessie Buckley has a lead role in the film, which is set in 1930s Chicago. With the help of a Dr. Euphronius, the recently arrived Frankenstein opts to revive a recently murdered woman in the hopes that she’ll be his bride. But the newly resurrected woman is more than just a dead wife: she’s taken on a new life of her own, and the ensuring romance between them ends up drawing the attention of the cops and a growing social movement within the city. Buckley is joined by Christian Bale, Annette Benning, Penélope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard, and deals for all actors were locked in earlier in the week.
Originally, Netflix was the one backing Gyllenhaal’s Frankenstein movie, but it dropped the project last year when Bale was the only star attached. After Barbie’s box office success, grabbing a woman-directed/starring movie was a big desire for Warner Bros., and production is confirmed to start up this March. This movie will end up as the first Frankenstein movie in years to successfully come out and star the Bride: Universal previously attempted to get a Bride movie starring Angelina Jolie off the ground, but those plans collapsed with the Dark Universe. And who knows if Apple’s stab at it with Scarlett Johannsson is still a thing.
At time of writing, Gyllenhaal’s untitled Bride of Frankenstein movie doesn’t have an official release date.
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