*The Bride* is shaping up to be the must-watch film of 2025.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s *The Bride* Could Be 2025’s Best — or Worst — Film**

It’s often said of unreleased films that they could go either way — triumph or disaster. But with *The Bride*, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ambitious reimagining of *Frankenstein*, those seem like the only two possible outcomes. There’s no middle ground here, and that’s what makes it the most anticipated release of 2025.

Slated to premiere on September 26, *The Bride* is written and directed by Gyllenhaal and draws its inspiration from both Mary Shelley’s novel and James Whale’s iconic 1935 film *The Bride of Frankenstein*. But this isn’t a remake — it’s a re-examination. Where Whale delivered a campy, gothic comedy with a shrieking bride and a horrified groom, Gyllenhaal appears to be reaching for something deeper and more socially resonant: a feminist love story with epic scale and musical ambition.

This is a major leap for Gyllenhaal. Her directorial debut, *The Lost Daughter*, was a cerebral, modestly scaled drama — thoughtful, but intimate. *The Bride*, by contrast, promises to be a \$100 million spectacle set in 1930s Chicago. Early reports suggest it will be an art-house film disguised as a blockbuster — a rare and risky hybrid in today’s movie landscape.

Jessie Buckley stars as the Bride, and she may be the project’s strongest asset. Whether in *The Lost Daughter*, *Chernobyl*, or *Wicked Little Letters*, Buckley has proven she can anchor complex roles with raw intelligence. *The Bride* also marks her long-awaited opportunity to sing on screen — she dazzled as Sally Bowles in the 2021 West End revival of *Cabaret*. That’s relevant, because *The Bride* is reportedly a musical, with a score composed by Jonny Greenwood. Yes, it’s a gamble — but it’s a bold one.

The supporting cast is equally high-profile. Jake Gyllenhaal (Dr. Frankenstein), Peter Sarsgaard, Penélope Cruz, Annette Bening, and Christian Bale (as the Monster, naturally) round out an ensemble filled with prestige and familiarity. Some might raise eyebrows at the family casting — Gyllenhaal's brother and husband both have major roles — but the inclusion of major talents like Bale and Cruz suggests the script is drawing serious attention on its own merits.

Still, ambition is no guarantee of success. Gyllenhaal’s reported premise — that the Monster-Bride relationship ignites a broader social movement — could prove inspired, or it could go the *Joker: Folie à Deux* route: overwrought, self-serious, and frustratingly literal.

There’s also the risk that the film’s feminist themes could be rendered so earnestly that they eclipse the eerie, existential questions that make *Frankenstein* endure. At its heart, the story is about man-made life and its moral, spiritual, and psychological consequences. If *The Bride* forgets that, it risks losing its soul.

Yet that very extremity is what makes *The Bride* so compelling. It could collapse under the weight of its ambitions — or it could soar as one of the most original, provocative films of the decade.

We’ll find out in September.