The Book Review – Guillermo del Toro on Writing and Directing the Oscar-Nominated ‘Frankenstein’

Host: Gilbert Cruz, The New York Times
Guest: Guillermo del Toro
Date: February 20, 2026

Main Theme & Episode Purpose

This episode is a deep-dive conversation between host Gilbert Cruz and Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, focusing on del Toro's lifelong connection to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the creative journey behind his new, Oscar-nominated film adaptation. The discussion weaves literary analysis, personal history, and artistic philosophy, exploring why Frankenstein endures, how del Toro approached adapting it, and what new meanings he brings to this story of loneliness, monstrosity, and grace.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Del Toro’s Lifelong Relationship with Frankenstein

• First Encounters: At age 7, del Toro saw the 1931 film; at 11, he read the 1818 edition of the novel, which he regards as the most authentic version.
  • “The 1818 is the most pure for me…a little undisciplined…ungainly…unrepentant, but…closest to the pulse of the biography of Mary Shelley, the ID of Mary Shelley.” (02:25)
• Empathy with the Creature: Del Toro identified with the Creature’s loneliness and alienation from childhood.
  • “I read it and what I always felt is the creature is me.” (02:25)
• Mary Shelley’s Own Loneliness: Del Toro sees Shelley’s autobiography reflected in her creation, reading the novel as a work of radical, personal isolation and hunger for connection.
  • “She is motherless and somewhat fatherless, that she's alone in the world. And I think that's the key for me.” (05:49)

On Loneliness, Family, and Art

• Personal Roots of Melancholy: Del Toro’s own childhood was marked by deep introspection, religious anxieties, and a keen sense of the world’s contradictions.
  • “If you take the suffering of others to heart and you grow up with a much more somber, much more melancholic disposition…” (07:10)
• Family Contradictions & Religion:
  • Del Toro recounts his father’s contradictory adherence to Catholicism and inconsistent behavior:
    • “He said one thing doesn't have to do anything with the other, which was marvelous.” (08:10)
• Making Sense Through Books: Exposure to a family library, winning the lottery, and reading voraciously as a bilingual child shaped del Toro’s world. His artistic vision fused biology, art, comics, and classic literature.
  • “That library was my gateway into words and images.” (13:12)

Writing the Screenplay: Adapting and Transforming the Classic

• Approach to Structure: The screenplay begins with a violent scene that is re-contextualized by the film’s end, underscoring themes of monstrousness and understanding.
  • “I knew I wanted to show a very violent attack of the creature to the ship…I wanted the audience to say, well, I have never seen this before, and to find the creature monstrous…” (18:19)
• Modern Resonance: Del Toro made Victor an entitled “mama’s boy” to reflect contemporary types of male power and loneliness.
• Language and Style:
  • Del Toro generated 90% new dialogue that he carefully crafted to echo 19th-century rhythms and Shelley’s spirit:
    • “To you I am obscene, but to myself I simply am. Which to me is a very concussive statement.” (21:25)
  • Discusses the differences in writing in Spanish vs. English and how linguistic constraints heighten his awareness of dialogue’s rhythm and brevity. (23:05–24:25)

On the Ending: Forgiveness and Grace

• Radical Grace vs. Nihilism: Del Toro intentionally reshapes the ending to pivot from the novel’s bleakness to an act of reconciliation and forgiveness.
  • “To me, right now, the radical position is grace…We want to forgive and we want to be forgiven. We really long for it.” (26:15)
  • “Grace and hope in ignorance have no value. But grace and hope with the knowledge of the world and how it is is radical. You are not doing it out of ignorance. You're doing it as a conscientious objector to the world.” (29:14)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Childhood Connections to Monster Stories:
  • “The questions of why the world can be savage, why the world can be cruel, how can we be cruel to each other…that's why it's a singularity.” (04:00)
• On Art as Survival:
  • “Comic books were…Art was…So I discovered health, biology, the history of art, all of it at the same time.” (13:12)
• On Gift and Curse of Creativity:
  • “Truman Capote famously said you get a gift and a whip at the same time…to have is to fear, to desire is to fear.” (16:36)
• On Radical Kindness:
  • “I proceeded a few years ago saying emotion is a new punk and I sustain it.” (29:14)

Key Timestamps

• [02:25] Del Toro’s discovery of Frankenstein and why the 1818 version matters.
• [05:27] Child’s empathy for the Creature and Shelley’s own loneliness.
• [08:10] On the contradictions of adulthood and religion in his upbringing.
• [12:56] Del Toro's early reading experiences and the importance of books in his childhood.
• [18:19] How del Toro approached structuring his adaptation and crafting Victor’s character.
• [21:25] Del Toro’s pride in the screenplay and the challenges of writing period dialogue.
• [26:15] Why forgiveness and grace became the film’s radical ending.
• [29:14] Del Toro’s philosophy: “Emotion is the new punk.”
• [31:12] Favorite books given and received (“The Tao” by Stephen Mitchell, Wabi Sabi for Artists, Nabokov’s Butterflies).
• [32:36] On finally finishing Moby Dick and the changing nature of reading.
• [33:42] On the difficulty of adapting Ray Bradbury to film.
• [35:20] The nostalgic full-circle moment of casting his Creature as Heathcliff.

“By the Book” Quick Questions (Books & Reading)

• Best book given/received:
  • The Tao (Stephen Mitchell translation); Wabi Sabi for Artists; Nabokov’s Butterflies
• Classic recently finished:
  • Melville’s Moby Dick (“The Whaling passages became my favorite” – 32:36)
• Book that shouldn’t be adapted again:
  • Ray Bradbury – especially for his uniquely evocative style that resists imitation.
• First movie memory:
  • Laurence Olivier’s Wuthering Heights, creating a circular connection with his own work:
    • “The fact that the creature is now in Wuthering Heights is…synthetically powerful.” (35:27)

Closing Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is rich, introspective, and frequently poetic, much like del Toro’s films. Del Toro infuses Frankenstein with personal emotion, philosophical musings, and a modern sense of urgency, choosing radical grace as an answer instead of nihilism.

This episode will particularly engage listeners interested in the intersections of literature, adaptation, personal mythology, and the creative process. Del Toro’s perspective locates Frankenstein as both a mirror for the outcast in all of us and as a vehicle for exploring the paradoxes at the heart of being human.