There’s nothing like a hot Frankenstein. (And yes, I’m talking about the doctor and not his creature. I’m one of those people.) There have been whispers for quite a while about Andrew Garfield and Oscar Isaac potentially starring in a Guillermo del Toro take on Frankenstein. But now it seems that those “whispers” have evolved into the next step in Hollywood vaguery: “talks.”
Variety published a piece on the movie, saying it would be for Netflix but they also stated that there was no comment from Netflix on it. But according to the outlet, Garfield, Isaac, and Mia Goth were all in talks with Guillermo del Toro to star in it. Which gets the brain wheels spinning. If there’s anyone to tell a perfectly gothic Frankenstein story, it’s Guillermo del Toro.
But it also makes us think about who Victor Frankenstein would be out of the two of them and how it would work. Sure, one is probably the monster, though there was an incredible staged production from about a decade ago, where Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch (in a stripped-down two-man version) switched roles every other night—meaning each played both Frankenstein and the creature. Outside of that possibility, I do wonder if either Isaac or Garfield would bring the monster to life, and which it would be.
Garfield as Frankenstein?
Andrew Garfield has a quiet intelligence about him that, when pushed, can turn to madness. It’s why he works so well as Peter Parker for me or why we instantly believe that he could be a Harvard student, like in The Social Network. His quiet intelligence would play very well into Victor and his creation and I think that it could make for a fascinating take on the story.
It is also, in my opinion, the safe choice. Of course we want to see handsome Andrew Garfield play the smart doctor who still looks like himself for the most part and is just handsome. But I think he’d be a great Creature too. Because the creation talks of compassion and uses his emotions to try and save himself from the hatred of those around him. I think that Garfield could be great as both but I’d personally rather see him as the Creature.
Because the reality is, we haven’t seen him get physically or emotionally “ugly” as it were. Who we have seen get ugly is Isaac and so his Victor is more appealing to me.
Isaac as Frankenstein?
Whether it is Apocalypse or even Nathan Bateman in Ex Machina, we’ve seen Oscar Isaac get twisted and ugly and he’s not afraid to show that side of him. So he’d make a great Creature. But I want to see his Victor. I want that Nathan Bateman edge to Victor as a man and to see him unravel because of what he has done right before us. I think that’s perfect casting.
What’s great about both of these actors though, as made clear from my rationale, is that either way it works. It’s just a matter of seeing something we’ve sort of known from their careers or see something fresh from them both. I’m happy with either but I think I’d just prefer to see Garfield as the Creature and Isaac as Frankenstein. And we know they’d both be hot.
(Featured image: Noam Galai/Getty Images for BAM/Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)
