VENICE – This Saturday, the Venice Film Festival will host the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” featuring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi. This marks the start of what is expected to be the film’s strategic push for major awards recognition.

In this adaptation of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, Isaac takes on the role of Victor Frankenstein while Elordi portrays the creature. Del Toro has long aspired to bring this story to the screen.

“It’s the movie that I’ve been in training for 30 years to do,” del Toro told The Associated Press recently.

Meanwhile, plans for an anti-war demonstration might affect the red carpet events. The march, intended to bring attention to Gaza, is set to conclude near the festival venue that evening.

Del Toro’s previous visit to Venice with “The Shape of Water” in 2017 resulted in winning the festival’s top honor. The film later clinched the best picture and director Oscars in 2018. While Netflix is yet to secure a best picture Oscar, they are placing significant hopes on “Frankenstein.” Del Toro’s recent project, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” earned the platform its first Oscar for best animated film.

“Frankenstein,” much like “The Shape of Water,” competes for the major awards at Venice against notable films like Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice,” and Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” The winners will be revealed by the jury led by Alexander Payne on September 6.

Netflix plans to release “Frankenstein” in theaters on Oct. 17 before it comes to streaming Nov. 7.

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For more coverage of the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.