Why Jacob Elordi Replaced Andrew Garfield In Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" is heading to Netflix later this year, but Andrew Garfield won't be part of the festivities. The "Social Network" star was originally cast as the Creature, only to drop out of the project and be replaced with "Euphoria" star Jacob Elordi, who we now know declined to audition for James Gunn's "Superman." With that in mind, why did Garfield drop out of del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's iconic sci-fi horror story? And what made Elordi the director's next pick to play the Creature?

In an interview with Empire Magazine, del Toro revealed that Garfield's schedule was too full after Hollywood reopened following the conclusion of the joint 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. This left him with nine weeks (give or take) to recast his monstrous character or risk his dream project falling through. However, he knew Elordi was the actor for the job after seeing his eyes. As del Toro recalled:

"The way I cast, I cast eyes. I always look at the eyes of the actor and say, 'Can they give me that emotion?' Oscar's eyes, I immediately knew he could play earnest or mad and brilliant. Jacob's eyes, I immediately knew he could play innocence."

Unlike "Superman," Elordi was more than happy to be part of del Toro's "Frankenstein" due to his long-term appreciation for the director's work. That said, the "Euphoria" actor never expected the role to be offered to him.

Jacob Elordi wanted to be part of "Frankenstein" from the moment Guillermo del Toro announced the project had been greenlit. The actor has been a fan of the filmmaker since seeing "Pan's Labyrinth" back in the day, so he made his desire to be part of this project known. However, it still came as a surprise to Elordi when his agent informed him that the director had chosen him to play the Creature. As he told Empire:

"Quite arrogantly, when the film was announced, I had, for some reason, run my mouth to my agent, saying, 'I would love to make that movie.' Then the years passed, and he called me and said, 'I have a script for you. It's Guillermo del Toro.' I said, 'Get f**ed!' Like, 'You're joking!' I thought it might be to play a tree or a horse or something. Then I asked, 'Is it to play the Creature?'"

The rest is, as they say, history. Andrew Garfield would probably have been great in the role as well, but Elordi is more than capable of stepping up to the plate in his own right. Early reviews of "Frankenstein" have also been very positive, with Elordi's performance being especially praised as one of the film's biggest highlights.

"Frankenstein" will open in select theaters on October 17, 2025, before streaming on Netflix everywhere starting three weeks later on November 7.