Jacob Elordi Steps In as Frankenstein’s Creature After Brutal Industry Feedback

Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited take on Mary Shelley’s classic tale has finally made its way to Netflix, but not before copping some seriously honest feedback from some of the film world’s biggest names. The Oscar-winning director, known for his work on Hellboy and other dark fantasy flicks, has been passionate about this project for years. With Oscar Isaac cast as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi stepping in as the Creature, the film also features Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, David Bradley, and Charles Dance in key supporting roles.

Del Toro isn’t one to let his work out into the world without a few trusted mates giving it a once-over. As he put it at the Palm Springs International Film Festival,

‘What I do – because we don’t test the movies – I show it to the 14, 16 most brilliant friends I know, and I’m blessed with good friendships. Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro Iñárritu, Jim Cameron, Rian Johnson, Steven [Spielberg]. A lot of people see the movie, they tell me what they think, and we have the agreement to be brutal.’

He went on to share,

‘Jim came in and he said, “Look, there’s this section” – which is not in the movie anymore – “This is beautiful, but you gotta take it out.” And it was about seven minutes. When someone gives me a note that is in that circle, I do it. I don’t argue.’

So, thanks to some straight-shooting from the bloke behind Avatar, Frankenstein lost a solid chunk of footage, trimming the runtime to a still-hefty 2 hours and 30 minutes. Del Toro didn’t spill the beans on what exactly got the chop, though.

Jacob Elordi’s Path to Playing the Creature

When the film dropped on Netflix last November, del Toro spoke about how Jacob Elordi landed the role after Andrew Garfield had to pull out. The director recalled,

‘When I spoke with Jacob the first time on Zoom, I texted Oscar, timestamped, and I said, “I found him. We found him.” You can talk about range, you can talk about this, but it’s essence. If the character’s essence is perfect for the actor, or the actor’s to the character, you don’t have to think again. You just tailor it to them, and watch them grow. They can’t fail.’

Elordi, who’s been making waves in recent years, brought his own approach to the Creature, especially when it came to finding the right voice for the part.

Finding the Creature’s Voice

Elordi described the process of developing the Creature’s unique sound, saying,

‘While we were filming, [del Toro would] come back from the edit the next morning, and he’d say to me, “There’s a gravel that needs to be there,” because I was developing with the Creature as the Creature developed in the film. I was lucky enough to, for the most part, shoot it in something of a chronological order. So I got to develop the voice as I played it live. But I had a lot of conversations with [pointing at Isaac] early on, and there was this kind of throat chant thing that we would practice and work on, but it was something that evolved.’

He added,

‘A Tibetan throat chant. But it was something that evolved, depending on the physicality of the scene or how he’s being treated in the moment affects the way his voice works. And there’s also a sensitivity that you want to find because you don’t just want to growl and do something that doesn’t mean anything. But I think the voice really comes from every incision, every memory, every different bit of flesh, every life lived — you have to build something that sounds like that.’

Key Details and Cast

The film is set for release on 17 October 2025, running for 149 minutes. Del Toro not only directed but also co-wrote the script with Mary Shelley credited for the original story. Producers include J. Miles Dale, del Toro himself, and Scott Stuber. The cast is led by Oscar Isaac as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Monster, with Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, David Bradley, and Charles Dance rounding out the ensemble.