The Fans Demand Netflix's 'Frankenstein' in Theaters
James Hibberd
My prediction that Netflix is going to backtrack and start releasing some subset of their movies in wide theatrical releases? It's alive! It's alive!1
On Sunday, the streamer released the first teaser trailer for director Guillermo del Toro’s longtime passion project take on Frankenstein. The prospect of yet another adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel might seem wearisome, as there have been nearly 200 filmic versions of the tale already. Yet the trailer (below) looks absolutely stunning — and hugely cinematic. The film stars Oscar Isaac as the mad doctor, Jacob Elordi as his monster and Mia Goth as Victor’s fiancée and features a sumptuous visual feast of Victorian and Arctic imagery.
This has led to fans to pretty much say the same thing: The most upvoted comments on YouTube contend the film — which will have its global premiere on Netflix in November — should be given a theatrical release.
I mean, just watch the trailer. It's hard to disagree. This is clearly a movie that should be seen – and screened – in a movie theater. Not on "your fucking telephone", to quote the late, great David Lynch.2
Some samples: “Guillermo Del Toro is too good for Netflix. This needs a theater release!” and “I think we can all agree that this should be released in theaters. Guillermo’s efforts deserve it” and “Guillermo del Toro is for theaters, not for Netflix. All that man makes is art,” along with the kinder, if rather passive aggressive: “Thank you Netflix for continuing to give Del Toro a platform. He deserves far greater.”
It will obviously get a small theatrical release to qualify for awards season, just as Netflix does for all of their most potentially prestigious films, but this has the potential to be one of those must-see cinematic experiences if marketed (and released) correctly. Instead, Netflix will undoubtedly stubbornly refuse, insisting that putting Frankenstein in theaters would degrade their value proposition. At some point, I'm guessing they'll realize that it actually enhances it. Netflix is no longer the underdog upstart, they have conquered television and really, all of Hollywood. They're a $500B company well on their way to $1T. No other entertainment company is close. Literally. They're nearly triple Disney.
Anyway, it feels like the talent is starting to break them. And the talent behind Barbie, in particular, is leading the charge here. While Netflix lost out on Margot Robbie's next movie specifically because of the desire for a theatrical release, they had to cave to Greta Gerwig's demand for her upcoming Narnia adaptation, which is going full IMAX before it hits Netflix.
Now read these thoughts from Guillermo del Toro and tell me he doesn't want to see his work playing at cinemas:
“To this day, nobody has made the book, but the book became my bible, because what Mary Shelley wrote was the quintessential sense of isolation you have as a kid,” he said. “So, Frankenstein to me is the pinnacle of everything, and part of me wants to do a version of it, part of me has for more than 25 years chickened out of making it. I dream I can make the greatest Frankenstein ever, but then if you make it, you’ve made it. Whether it’s great or not, it’s done. You cannot dream about it anymore. That’s the tragedy of a filmmaker. You can dream of something, but once you’ve made it, you’ve made it.”
One more thing:
Interestingly enough, Netflix also developed Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride, which is a remake of Bride of Frankenstein, but then passed it over to Warner Bros. The studio will release it next March — in theaters.
"I had a vision. An idea took shape in my mind. Inevitable. Unavoidable. Until it became truth." Let's do this, Netflix.
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
1 A line made famous by the 1931 James Whale version of Frankenstein, but was never actually in the book.
2 Who, of course, never made a version of Frankenstein, but instead The Elephant Man, which was close enough, thematically.