Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ Unveils First Trailer at CinemaCon

At CinemaCon, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ had a dramatic debut, providing a terrifying first look at her punk rock retelling of ‘Frankenstein’s monster and his wife.  Christian Bale plays the notorious beast in the Warner Bros.-backed $90 million movie, while Jessie Buckley plays his revived companion.  The recently revealed slogan for the movie, which alludes to a wild and rebellious spin on a classic horror tale, reflects the fact that their love is anything but a fairytale.

 Buckley’s figure is shown in the preview, which has not yet been made public, falling down a staircase and crumpling as she lands.  Not for her salvation, but to become a match for a hideously bandaged monster, she soon finds herself on the operating table.  In the video, an enigmatic voice implies that her fall was intentional rather than the result of an accident.

Image Courtesy: IMDb

Blood, mayhem, and rebellion characterize the twisted passion that develops between ‘Frankenstein’s monster and his bride, despite the horrible circumstances of her creation.  She accepts the insanity as the monster promises to stick by her side “until death do us part,” stating that there is nothing left to do except live.

Best known for ‘Crazy Heart’ and ‘The Dark Knight’, Gyllenhaal established herself as a filmmaker with her Oscar-nominated directing debut, ‘The Lost Daughter’. Her goal for ‘The Bride!’ was to make it “pop, big, and radical.” The idea came to her unexpectedly at a party when she saw someone with a tattoo of the Bride of Frankenstein, and she decided to revisit the 1935 classic, noting how little the bride looked and how she never spoke—a sharp contrast to Buckley’s portrayal, which promises a much more rebellious and outspoken take on the character.

Image Courtesy: IMDb

‘The Bride!’ is not the only ‘Frankenstein ’- themed movie that will be released soon.  In November, Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’, which stars Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth, will be available on OTT.  Even though recent ‘Frankenstein’ adaptations have had varying degrees of success, viewers will soon be able to compare two quite different versions of the classic tale.

‘The Bride!’ was originally scheduled for release in September 2025, but it has been rescheduled for March 2026, giving del Toro’s feature a little more time.  

–Farheen Ali