Maggie Gyllenhaal reveals Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster, Jessie Buckley as ‘The Bride’

On her Instagram Thursday, actress, writer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal teased images of two of the stars of her upcoming Frankenstein-based film The Bride, Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley.

“Meet The Bride & Frank,” captioned the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Lost Daughter. Buckley, one of the Oscar-nominated stars of that film, plays the titular bride in the star-studded Warner Bros. project.

In the makeup test, Buckley is depicted with curly bleach-blond hair and an inky splotch spreading from the corner of her mouth up the side of her face.

Oscar winner Bale, playing Frankenstein’s monster, is shown holding his hair up with his right hand, revealing his character’s characteristic stapled-up scar across his forehead; his left hand is parting his shirt open to reveal a tattoo reading “Hope” on his chest, as well as an autopsy scar that has also been crudely stapled shut.

The 1930s-set film also stars Oscar winner Penélope Cruz, Nyad Oscar nominee Annette Bening and Emmy nominee Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie’s husband.

According to Variety, in this version of the Frankenstein mythology, Buckley plays a murdered socialite who is reanimated, and comes into her own both romantically and politically. The movie is set for an October 2, 2025, release.

Incidentally, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is now shooting his own take on Mary Shelly‘s famed horror classic for Netflix, with Saltburn star Jacob Elordi as the brain-swapped creation. Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz also stars, along with Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth and Lars Mikkelsen.