VENICE, Italy — Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi are expected at the Venice Film Festival Saturday for the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” the kickoff to what’s expected to be the film’s major awards season push.
Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein and Elordi is the monster in this adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, which del Toro has been dreaming about making for decades.
“It’s the movie that I’ve been in training for 30 years to do,” del Toro told The Associated Press recently.
There may be some disruption outside of the red carpet, however, as an anti-war march is planned to take place that evening, ending near the festival. Organizers hope to turn the spotlight to Gaza.
The last time del Toro was at Venice was with “The Shape of Water” in 2017, which won the festival’s top prize that year before going on to pick up the best picture and best director Oscar in 2018. Netflix does not yet have a best picture winner in their arsenal, but is betting big on “Frankenstein.” Del Toro’s last film, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” won the streamer its first best animated film Oscar.
Like “The Shape of Water,” “Frankenstein” is up for the big awards at Venice, where it will be competing with films like Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia,”Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” and Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” Winners will be announced by the Alexander Payne-led jury on Sept. 6.
Netflix plans to release “Frankenstein” in theaters on Oct. 17 before it comes to streaming Nov. 7.
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For more coverage of the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.
