Christian Bale Becomes Frankenstein in ‘The Bride’ First Look

Here is your first look at Christian Bale’s very different Frankenstein’s Monster (Frank to his friends) set to appear in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s upcoming film The Bride.

Bale is set to star in the film opposite Jessie Buckley, who plays the movie’s version of the Bride of Frankenstein.

According to Variety, The Bride is a unique twist on Mary Shelley’s horror classic. It’s “set in 1930s Chicago” where “Buckley’s murdered young woman is revived, but her new life surprises her creators as she lusts for romance and ignites a radical social movement.”

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The film is from Warner Bros. and is not connected to Universal or any of their various cinematic universes (or Dark Universes) of classic monsters. The movie’s cast also includes Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard and Annette Bening.

The plot description makes it sound a little like the recent Oscar winner Poor Things, which was not directly based on Shelley’s Frankenstein, but certainly told a similar story of a dead woman who is brought back to life by a mad scientist and then must grapple with her new existence. That film was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starred Emma Stone in the central role. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Bella Baxter.

The Bride will have some upcoming competition in the Frankenstein department as well. Guillermo del Toro is making his own Frankenstein. His features Priscilla’s Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s Monster and also stars Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth.

Gyllenhaal’s The Bride is scheduled to open in theaters on October 2, 2025.