Bride of Frankenstein remake: Maggie Gyllenhaal directing, Christian Bale and Peter Sarsgaard star

Back in the Dark Universe days, Universal was developing a remake of the 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein  (watch it HERE) that was set to be directed by Bill Condon – who seemed to be the perfect choice, since he had directed the film Gods and Monsters, about the final days of Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein director James Whale. But then the Dark Universe crumbled and those remake plans were scrapped. Now it looks like there’s another remake in the works, simply titled The Bride, with Maggie Gyllenhaal directing the project for the Netflix streaming service. According to Production Weekly, Gyllenhaal has even found her first two cast members: her The Dark Knight co-star Christian Bale and her husband Peter Sarsgaard!

Gyllenhaal’s take on The Bride is expected to start filming sometime in the first quarter of 2024.

We don’t have a synopsis for this take on the concept, but the original The Bride of Frankenstein told the following story: After recovering from injuries sustained in the mob attack upon himself and his creation, Dr. Frankenstein falls under the control of his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius, who insists the now-chastened doctor resume his experiments in creating new life. Meanwhile, the Monster remains on the run from those who wish to destroy him without understanding that his intentions are generally good despite his lack of socialization and self-control.

This doesn’t appear to be a Universal project, but it wouldn’t be the first Bride of Frankenstein remake to be made by a different company. In 1985, Columbia Pictures brought us another movie simply called The Bride, which starred Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein, Jennifer Beals as Eva (the bride) and Clancy Brown as Viktor (the monster). A few years ago, it was announced that Scarlett Johansson was going to star in a similar project called Bride for A24 and Apple, but that still hasn’t made it into production.

Having racked up multiple award wins and nominations for her acting career (including an Oscar nomination for her role in Crazy Heart), Gyllenhaal made her feature writing and directing debut with the 2021 film The Lost Daughter – and earned another Oscar nomination for writing that screenplay.

Are you interested in seeing Maggie Gyllenhaal’s take on Bride of Frankenstein? Who would you like to see Christian Bale and Peter Sarsgaard play in the film? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.