It’s a bit of a Renaissance moment for Frankenstein-related projects, no? “Poor Things” obviously cribs from Mary Shelley‘s 1818 novel, and well, it’s all in the name when it comes to “Lisa Frankenstein.” Then there’s Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming take for Netflix, which announced its cast earlier this week. Now add Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s latest directing effort to the list. The actress-director’s next project has its cast, and boy, is it loaded. Jessie Buckley stars in the feature, with Christian Bale, Annette Benning, Penelope Cruz, and Peter Skarsgaard in the leading ensemble. In a word, yowza: that’s quite a troupe for Gyllenhaal’s sophomore pic.
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Buckley and Bale have apparently been circling the project since before the guild strikes last year. But that pause and other things have kept Warner Bros. and Gyllenhaal from closing deals with the cast. Initially a Netflix project, Production Weekly says the tentative title for the project is “The Bride,” making this a possible remake of James Whale‘s legendary 1935 sequel “The Bride Of Frankenstein.” The film’s logline more or less confirms that suspicion. Read it below:
A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to seek the aide of a Dr. Euphronius in creating a companion for himself. The two reinvigorate a murdered young woman and the Bride is born. She is beyond what either of them intended, igniting a combustible romance, the attention of the police and a wild and radical social movement.
Gyllenhaal plans to start shooting “The Bride” soon, at least before Q1 2024 is over. That means this film could be a hot ticket for Warner Bros. in 2025. Emma Tillinger Koskoff leads producers with Gyllenhaal and “The Lost Daughter” producers Talia Kleinhendler and Osnant Handelsman-Keren. Executive producers include Courtney Kivowitz and Carla Raij. And if it weren’t already apparent, this is another big Warner Bros. movie with a buzzy cast with a female director behind the camera. It’s clear at this point that the studio likes what came from taking a risk with Greta Gerwig and “Barbie,” and they think it’s a replicable event.
“The Bride” will be Gyllenhaal’s second feature after 2021’s acclaimed “The Lost Daughter,” which starred Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Buckley. That film scored three Oscar nods Best Actress (Colman), Best Supporting Actress (Buckley,) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Gyllenhaal). Gyllenhaal adapted Elena Ferrante‘s novel of the same name for the feature, and “The Bride” will be an adaptation of sorts, too, albeit of a very different variety.
But now let’s look more closely at this cast. Buckley works with Gyllenhaal again after doing “Women Talking,” “Wild Rose,” and “Fingernails” in between. She has “Wicked Little Letters,” which sees her star again alongside Colman, coming out this year, too. The in-demand Buckley also has “Hamnet” on the way too, in pre-production now.
Recent roles for Bale include “The Pale Blue Eye,” “Thor: Love & Thunder,” and “Amsterdam.” He also recently provided voice work for the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki‘s “The Boy And The Heron.”
Cruz is fresh off co-starring opposite Adam Driver in Michael Mann‘s “Ferrari.” She also recently starred in “The 355,” “On The Margins,” and “L’Immensitá.”
Benning recently received Golden Globe and SAG Best Actress nominations for “NYAD.” She also recently starred in Chris Pine‘s directorial debut “Poolman.” Other recent credits include Kenneth Branagh‘s Agatha Christie adaptation “Death On The Nile.”
Skargaard’s role in “The Bride” comes with little surprise, being Gyllenhaal’s longtime husband. He starred in “The Lost Daughter” as well. Other recent work for the actor includes “Memory,” “The Batman,” and “Coup!,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year and should hit U.S. theaters this year.
All told everything about “The Bride,” from its cast to its logline, sounds excellent. And if Gyllenhaal has honed her skills behind the camera even further since “The Lost Daughter,” this could be the can’t-miss movie for Warner Bros. Stay tuned for more details about this one.
