We’ve seen some interesting cinematic reinterpretations of classic monsters in the last few years, and that includes the upcoming movie The Bride from director Maggie Gyllenhaal. The upcoming monster movie is an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein with influences from the 1935 movie Bride of Frankenstein, and according to star Peter Sarsgaard, the film will be “controversial.”
Sarsgaard, who is married to Gyllenhaal, stars in the movie alongside the likes of Jessie Buckley as Frankenstein’s bride and Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster. While speaking with Deadline, he dropped some interesting details about the film, which will be a crime story set in the 1930s.
Here’s how he opened his statement about The Bride being controversial:
“I’m going to say that it’s going to be controversial,” Sarsgaard plainly begins.
“I mean, it’s very punk. It’s very radical in some ways, and the main characters in it are very imperfect. It’s also a love story, basically. It’s about the monster in all of us.”
There have been rumors regarding the project in the past, including reports that it could be a musical, which Sarsgaard denied. However, he did admit that there was some dancing involved in the film, and he had this to say on that front:
“I will certainly dance if given the opportunity,” he laughs. “I’m known as the first one on and the last one off the dance floor. I shake it until my moneymaker’s wet.”
In addition to Buckley, Bale, and Sarsgaard, The Bride also stars Penélope Cruz, Annette Bening, Julianne Hough, John Magaro, Jeannie Berlin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Linda Emond, Louis Cancelmi, and Matthew Maher.
In addition to directing the film, Gyllenhaal also wrote the screenplay, which was produced for a budget of $80 million at Warner Bros. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the picture pans out, especially if it’s as “controversial” as Sarsgaard suggests. Of course, he most likely means that as a compliment, which adds another interesting layer to what Gyllenhaal must be cooking with this new take on Frankenstein.
The Bride is currently scheduled to hit theaters early next year on March 6, 2026. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding the film as we have them.