Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone Starring in Frankenstein Reimagining Poor Things

Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone are set to star in the latest film from The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things, which is based on the novel of the same name from author Alasdair Gray, as first reported by Collider. Willem Dafoe is also slated to star in the film. Loosely inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the source material takes some liberties with the concept and will see Ruffalo’s character reanimating Stone’s character, a resurrection that brings with it some unexpected ramifications. The film does not yet have a release date, and will be written by The Favourite writer Tony McNamara. Fans will next see Stone in the origin story Cruella while Ruffalo is expected to appear in the Disney+ series She-Hulk.

Searchlight Pictures describes the film as “a Victorian tale of love, discovery and scientific daring. Poor Things tells the incredible story of Belle Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by an eccentric but brilliant scientist.”

Originally published in 1818, Frankenstein has gone on to be adapted and interpreted in countless ways. While the concept was brought to life for nearly a century in theatrical productions, one seminal interpretation is the 1931 film from director James Whale and starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster. The success of that film led to a number of filmed adaptations on screens both big and small, while Shelley herself has also been brought to life for various narratives.

Despite the prominence of Frankenstein’s Monster in popular culture, fans have only been given loose interpretations of the tale in recent years, such as the films Victor Frankenstein and I, Frankenstein, while director Danny Boyle directed an acclaimed theatrical production of the story starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, with the pair switching roles each night between Dr. Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s Monster.

Most recently, actor Javier Bardem had been attached to a project in which he would play Frankenstein’s Monster, which was set to unfold in Universal Pictures’ “Dark Universe” of monster movie reboots. However, with that franchise kicking off with the critically and financially disappointing The Mummy, plans for that franchise were halted and then seemingly scrapped entirely. Some reports claim that The Conjuring director James Wan was interested in reviving the concept for a new project, with no official updates emerging on that project since 2019.

Stay tuned for details on Poor Things.

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