Guillermo del Toro says he tried to make Frankenstein for the last 20 years

Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro said he has been trying to make his Frankenstein film for the last 20 years until Netflix reached out.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, the 61-year-old recounted how “everybody passed” on making the film, until the streaming service’s chief executive Ted Sarandos approached him.

Del Toro’s 2025 film is an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic horror novel of the same name, and follows the story of an egotistical scientist who brings a monstrous creature to life in a daring experiment.

Del Toro told the radio show about his struggle to get the film made, saying: “I’ve been trying to make Frankenstein for more than 20 years.

“Everybody passed and Netflix came to me.

“Ted Sarandos said ‘What is your bucket list?’

“He said go ahead, he gave me the scale, a chance to make (the film), a theatrical release – and more importantly, complete freedom.”

Frankenstein was released in November last year, and has since generated Oscar buzz.

The film’s cast includes Star Wars’ Oscar Isaac, British actress Mia Goth and Saltburn star Jacob Elordi, who has received nods at the Golden Globes and the Actor Awards for his performance.

Del Toro said he saw part of himself in the characters of Frankenstein, and said: “Every character I write has to have something of me.”

The award-winning filmmaker said: “When you’re young, you write as the protagonist. The older you get, you write yourself as the antagonist.”

He went on to speak about how his Catholic upbringing in Guadalajara, Mexico, has strongly influenced his work.

He said: “The Bible is the goriest reading that to this day I have ever had.

“Why would a father send his child to be crucified and tortured?”

Del Toro was born and raised in the Mexican city in the 1960s, which he described as “like the 1800s” due to its “incredibly traditional” and religious nature.

The filmmaker went on to say he loved Shelley’s classic novel as a child, and called himself a “gothic romance addict” – citing the genre as an artistic inspiration for his work.

Del Toro is best known for his Oscar-winning films The Shape Of Water, Pinocchio and Pan’s Labyrinth, as well as Hellboy, Crimson Peak and Pacific Rim.

He will be awarded the BFI Fellowship at the annual BFI Chair’s dinner in London in May 2026.