If you thought the world went a little mad for the magnetism of Bill Skarsgård in Nosferatu, no one is ready for Jacob Elordi in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. The Brightburn and Euphoria star plays the monster in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Mary Shelley’s legendary novel and, in the first footage from the film, he looked about as dashing as a Frankenstein’s monster can be, despite the fact he’s the reanimated amalgamation of human corpses.
The footage, which was not released online, screened as part of a big 2025 preview event put on by Netflix in Los Angeles Wednesday morning. It began with an introduction from del Toro himself from his famous nerd cave, Bleak House, where he showed that he has an entire room dedicated to Frankenstein. The message was that this is a movie he’s been waiting to make for, basically, his entire life. Then came the footage, which was all period, mostly shot on location or epic sets, all featuring gorgeous, flowing costumes.
Much of the footage centered on Dr. Frankenstein (played by Oscar Isaac) as he’s seen experimenting in the middle of a large, crowded room with an emaciated torso. The people watching are taken back. We get the sense his desire to reanimate the dead isn’t going well and, in fact, he’s being mocked for it. Among the people who do so is Mia Goth’s character. He then meets a character played by Christoph Waltz who agrees to fully fund his research.
Multiple corpses are brought into his lab in various ways, including a very bright, white ivory coffin. The lab is powered by large, green-colored energy sources. In it, we see close-ups of the doctor’s surgery, all of which are graphic and gory. Dr. Frankenstein slices skin, severs limbs, and puts together a new body almost like a jigsaw puzzle. The final construction has an eternal set of ribs, made of metal, on the outside of his body (think Lord Zedd from Power Rangers), built around a cylindrical red energy source. Dr. Frankenstein raises the table up in the middle of the room. Next, we see him on the roof in the middle of a storm, lightning and thunder everywhere. However, when he returns, he doesn’t think the experiment has worked.
Cut to the doctor sleeping in a large elaborate bed, covered in sultry red sheets. He opens his eyes and is scared as something is towering over him. It’s his creation, Frankenstein’s monster, played by Jacob Elordi.
Now, according to Google, Jacob Elordi is a very large 6 foot 5 inches tall and his monster is every bit of that and more. He’s tall, he’s lanky, and despite being pieced together from various body parts, you can very clearly see that it’s Elordi under all the makeup. His movie star good looks clash with the horrific makeup in a way that just works. Even the signature cut across the head, a staple of every Frankenstein’s monster, is a little cooler than usual as it starts on the upper right side of his head and then swoops down closer to above his left eye.
The monster looks at photos, tries to woo Goth’s character, walks in the snow, and more. He’s a commanding presence. Basically think about Jacob Elordi with lines on his body and pasty-looking make-up and, well, we have the internet’s latest thirst trap. Or, at least, that’s our prediction. We won’t know for sure until November when Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein comes to Netflix.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.