A couple of years ago, word leaked out that Maggie Gyllenhaal was set to write and direct a film called The Bride!, a new take on the concept of the 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein (watch it HERE). Once thought to be set up at the Netflix streaming service, this one is actually happening at Warner Bros., and the studio has set the film for a theatrical release on March 6, 2026 (after pushing it back from last October). We saw a teaser trailer for the film a few months ago, and now a full trailer has made its way online to give us a longer look at the unique vision Gyllenhaal has brought to this project. You can check it out in the embed above.
Cast and Synopsis
Maggie Gyllenhaal has assembled a strong cast for the film that includes Peter Sarsgaard, Penelope Cruz, Annette Bening, Julianne Hough, John Magaro, Jeannie Berlin, and her brother Jake Gyllenhaal, with Jessie Buckley as The Bride and Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s Monster. The Bride! has the following synopsis: A 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. Bening plays Dr. Euphronius. Sarsgaard has denied the rumors that the movie is a musical, but also admitted that there are some dance routines.
This isn’t 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.
Gyllenhaal’s film has been rated R for strong/bloody violent content, sexual content/nudity and language.
Inspired by a tattoo
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gyllenhaal revealed that she was inspired to watch The Bride of Frankenstein for the first time after seeing a tattoo of the character on someone’s forearm. After she watched the movie, she was left wanting to know more about the Bride… so she wrote the screenplay for this movie to get answers. She told EW, “I watched the movie, and I realized she doesn’t speak. She’s only in it for five minutes at most. She’s still formidable, but I thought there’s a problem with this concept. It’s called the Bride of Frankenstein, but it’s really Frankenstein. So, who is she? … What about her? You can’t just bring someone back from the dead and expect everything’s gonna go okay.“
What did you think of the The Bride! trailer? Are you looking forward to watching this movie on the big screen? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
