Guillermo del Toro on Bringing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Back to Life

Guillermo del Toro speaks to Vogue Philippines about his long-awaited adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and why the story continues to resonate more than two centuries after its creation.

Guillermo del Toro has spent his career shaping stories where myth and reality meet, where the fantastical often reveals the most human truths. From Pan’s Labyrinth to The Shape of Water, his films are recognizable for their ability to transform familiar genres into strikingly original visions. For decades, he has spoken of one story in particular that has captivated his imagination: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Del Toro has often described Frankenstein as a story that has accompanied him since childhood, calling it his “favorite novel in the world.” For decades, he has spoken about his enduring desire to adapt Mary Shelley’s tale, which he had dreamed of doing since he was a child.

Now, after years of anticipation, del Toro’s long-gestating adaptation comes to life. Shelley’s novel, first published in 1818, remains one of literature’s most enduring works, a tale that continues to provoke questions about creation, morality, and the fragile line between invention and responsibility. In del Toro’s hands, the story takes on new dimensions, informed by both the depth of his research and his lifelong fascination with its characters.

In this conversation with Vogue Philippines, del Toro reflects on what has kept Frankenstein relevant for more than two centuries, how the novel speaks to our present, and the considerations behind bringing such a well-known figure back to the screen.

There have been over 400 known film adaptations and interpretations of Frankenstein. How did you approach making this one yours?

I wanted to make it two things that I felt had not been done. One, epic, meaning it needed to feel gigantic, modern, operatic, and intimate. It felt personal, and it felt like a very intimate Catholic retelling of the novel in a father-son relationship. So those things I knew from the start, and I knew from the start I wanted to show the side of the creator and the side of the creature to complete the tale. One telling one story, the other telling the other. And those things have never been done before. And that’s how I approached it to make it unique.

You have quite an affinity with monsters in your films, but what is it about Frankenstein’s creature that sparked your interest?

I was raised Catholic, and I never quite understood what it meant to identify with Jesus or with, you know, because I saw Jesus and I saw him, [and] Filipino Catholic and Mexican Catholic are very gory. There’s a lot of blood and bones, and the crucifixions are very gory in Mexico. So I never understood why people wanted to eat the flesh and drink the blood of that guy. I couldn’t get it.

And then I saw Boris Karloff and Frankenstein, and I thought, that’s my Messiah. I worshipped that character. And then I read the novel, and I thought, this feels like my biography. I was identifying with a teenager from 19th-century England in a way that I hadn’t identified with my cousins in Mexico. There was an intimacy with Mary Shelley.

That’s from the start what I felt I had to make people understand the book, and I had to make it autobiographical for me because she did that. Her book was an autobiography, and those were the two engines that sustained me for over 40 years, trying to think I could make the movie.

It’s been a long time since the material was published, but it continues to captivate our imagination. Why do you think people keep coming back to this story?

Look, there are essential myths, and those myths never age; and they feel eternal. And you can talk about Pinocchio, Dracula, Frankenstein, Tarzan, Candleman de Cristo, a few characters that are like that, that people know very well. And Frankenstein is one of them. And it was created by a teenager.

One of the interesting themes for Frankenstein is how it explores our humanity. So while making this film, were there any realizations that you’ve had about your own?

Yes. I think the movie changed me very much. I don’t know if it changed me for good or bad. I’m yet to find out. But there was something, Oscar and I bonded very, very strongly during the shoot and during the scene where he’s stitching the bodies together. Something very weird happened to me.

I haven’t felt the same way since then. It’s like something left; it was either a chip on my shoulder or a sense of longing. Something changed, and I started to get more of an urgency to live. I cannot explain it. I just felt living is more urgent because time is limited and the world is fading. I got this, and this has nothing to do with the novel. But you’re right about that.

In the middle of one day of shooting, I looked at Oscar, and we both felt it at the same time. We had the same feeling, and it hasn’t come back since. I think it’s postpartum depression.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.