Frankenstein had a major last-minute cast change you might not remember – and it was for the better

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Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is now available on Netflix, and it almost starred a different actor as The Creature. Originally, Andrew Garfield was set to play Victor Frankenstein’s creation, and remained attached to the project until just weeks before filming began.

Garfield had to leave the film in early January 2024 because of scheduling issues caused by the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Jacob Elordi quickly took over the role, saving director Guillermo del Toro from further delays on his long-awaited project. This last-minute change did mean some rushed adjustments were needed for the Creature’s elaborate makeup.

Guillermo del Toro and makeup artist Mike Hill initially spent nine months designing the look for Garfield’s version of The Creature. However, they then had just nine weeks to make changes. “That’s about as much pressure as you can handle,” del Toro explained to Vanity Fair. Looking back, though, he believes the effort was worthwhile, as it’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing the role other than Jacob Elordi.

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This isn’t meant as a criticism of John Garfield, who would likely have been interesting in the role. However, Jacob Elordi’s casting really highlights the core idea of Frankenstein. Like Guillermo del Toro’s recent films Pinocchio and Nightmare Alley, this version focuses on a father-son dynamic – though in this case, the ‘father’ is an obsessive scientist who thinks he’s a god, and the ‘son’ is the creature he brings to life.

This film is deeply meaningful for del Toro, as it’s a project he’s been passionate about for years. At its heart, the story explores how Victor repeats his father’s mistakes in his treatment of the Creature, rejecting and mistreating him simply because he isn’t what Victor expected.

As a huge fan, I always felt there was something deeply personal in del Toro’s work, and learning this really hit home. He’s said this particular relationship in the film reflected his own – how he felt about his dad, who sadly passed away in 2018, and how he now feels as a father himself. It makes the story so much more moving to me knowing that.

He explained to USA Today that he went from not understanding his father and believing he’d turn out differently, to realizing at 42 that he had become just like him – even repeating his father’s actions. He regretted this, sought forgiveness, and now wishes more than anything his father were still alive.

Okay, so I get why they went with Jacob Elordi as the Creature instead of Andrew Garfield. While makeup could’ve probably made anyone look the part, they really wanted to emphasize the father-son relationship between Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his creation. Isaac is 18 years older than Elordi, which feels right for that dynamic. With Garfield, though, there’s only a four-year age difference, and honestly, he and Isaac just feel very different in terms of how they’d play those roles. It’s more than just age, really – the whole vibe is different!

The film Frankenstein cleverly utilizes Jacob Elordi’s height – he’s six foot five – to emphasize the Creature’s imposing presence. He physically dominates scenes, towering over Victor and using space to convey his changing emotions, from fear and vulnerability to powerful anger. While Andrew Garfield is also tall at five foot ten, Elordi’s greater height creates a more striking visual contrast, powerfully illustrating the shifting power dynamic between Victor and his creation.

Hill immediately recognized something special in Elordi once he began playing The Creature. He was drawn to Elordi’s long limbs and slender wrists – a natural looseness in his movements. Hill also noted Elordi’s ability to deliver quietly intense moments, observing that he could watch people with a focused, somber gaze, and his long eyelashes reminded him of Boris Karloff, as he explained to Vanity Fair.

I thought to myself, ‘It’s hard to find anyone else who combines that size and strength.’ He seems harmless, but he’s a very large man – six foot five – and could be intimidating or even dangerous if he chose to be.

Del Toro explained that casting Jacob was ideal for the role. He and Garfield had a strong working relationship, and Del Toro found Jacob incredibly intuitive – he rarely needed to give him much direction, as Jacob just understood the character.

Look, I’m not knocking Andrew Garfield at all – it’s impossible to say how he would have done, and Guillermo del Toro probably could have made anything work. But, talking to Deadline back in December 2024, Garfield actually said he met Jacob Elordi and even he seemed to get why Elordi was the right pick for the role. It’s like he recognized Elordi just fit the part.

I was really happy it was him who did it, but I was also disappointed I didn’t get the chance myself. I have a lot of affection for Guillermo, Oscar, and the whole team he put together, so it was a letdown.

Meeting Jacob felt like a lucky accident, and it made me realize he might have benefited from the experience even more than I did.

And maybe, in the end, Frankenstein needed Jacob Elordi more than it needed Andrew Garfield.

Frankenstein is available to watch now on Netflix.

The latest issue of Living Legends is now available! You can purchase Ariana & Witches at newsstands or online for only £8.99.

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2025-11-07 23:20