UPDATE: “The Bride!” has been set, via Warner Bro, for a theatrical and IMAX launch, on October 3, 2025. Sounds like they want Gyllenhaal to return to Venice after premiering her debut feature (“The Lost Daughter”) to rapturous reviews on the Lido in 2021.
EARLIER: Deadline is confirming yet another scoop of mine — this one having to do with Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” Back in August, I first reported on the genesis of this film. Then, in November, after Netflix dropped the project, I mentioned it was about to find a new home at Warner Bros.
We now have more details about the cast, and it’s filled with some major talent. Starring in “The Bride” will be Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard. There’s also been a rumor that comedian John Mulaney might play the cop …
This is the longline for “The Bride!” …
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.
The aim is for a March 2024 production start. The budget for the film is said to be around $80 million. A 2025 release seems to be the plan.
This is said to be a loose remake of 1935’s “Bride of Frankenstein” — the sequel to 1931’s Frankenstein. This project will be anticipated not just due to Bale’s presence, but, more so because Gylenhaal is behind behind the camera for her second feature.
Gyllenhaal helmed the Netflix-backed 2021 psychological drama, “The Lost Daughter,” starring Olivia Colman, which turned out to be a critical hit. It also garnered three Oscar nominations and won Gyllenhaal Best Screenplay honors at Venice.
I’m not sure what’s with the current fad of Frankenstein-inspired projects — Lanthimos, Del Toro, Gyllenhaal — but Mary Shelley’s 200-year old work seems to still be striking a major chord with today’s filmmakers.