In the past few years, we’ve seen a number of creative takes on Mary Shelley’s iconic horror novel Frankenstein, some much better than others. To name a few of the most high-profile ones, Tim Burton delivered a gorgeously animated kiddie flick called Frankenweenie, Stuart Beattie directed the action-fueled, thinly-written fantasy thriller I, Frankenstein, and Showtime very recently compelled us by recounting Doctor Victor Frankenstein’s origin story on horror series Penny Dreadful.
Now, however, it’s time for us to get back to basics, with a Gothic new version of the Frankenstein tale led by James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe. The film, directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push), is in post-production now, and we’re finally hearing some details about it. Though we had all been referring to the project as Frankenstein, now word has emerged that the actual title is Victor Frankenstein. That’s a move sure to satisfy fans of Shelley’s book, many of whom are often frustrated by the mass confusion between the doctor Frankenstein and his unnamed monster.
However, whether Victor Frankenstein is even an appropriate title for this new film is unclear. According to a new plot synopsis, Radcliffe’s Igor (seen in costume here) is actually the focus in this take on the tale. Check it out below:
James McAvoy is Victor Von Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe stars as Igor in a unique, never-before-seen twist on Mary Shelley’s classic 19th century novel. Told from Igor’s perspective, we see the troubled young assistant’s dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Victor Von Frankenstein, and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man—and the legend—we know today.
I’m very excited to revisit the story of Frankenstein with two actors as tremendously talented as McAvoy and Radcliffe, especially because it looks like this movie will take a fresh approach to telling a very familiar story. We’ll find out whether Victor Frankenstein is unique enough to rank among the best adaptations of Shelley’s story when it opens October 2nd, 2015.