The second film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, following The Lost Daughter (2021), draws on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein myth. However, unlike, for example, Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 Frankenstein, it is not a straightforward adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. Instead, it is inspired by Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the James Whale film sequel to the 1931 original, which only partially adapted the book and reimagined the story of the monster longing for companionship and persuading a scientist to create a wife for him.

This new film, written by Gyllenhaal, is set in 1930s Chicago and, as in the 1935 film, features Mary Shelley as a character. The same actress (Jessie Buckley) plays both Shelley and the monster’s companion, while Christian Bale plays the monster. The cast also includes Peter Sarsgaard (the director’s husband), Jake Gyllenhaal (her brother), Annette Bening, and Penélope Cruz.