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Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein used AI as inspiration - but not in the way you think

Guillermo del Toro despises AI, and his updated tale of Victor Frankenstein and his Monster - coming soon to Netflix - reflects his feelings

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Mon Oct 27 2025

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Nobody hates generative AI like Guillermo del Toro hates generative AI.

OK, so maybe that's not quite true - there are plenty of artists (and fans of said art) that have made their displeasure with new programs like Midjourney quite apparent. However, not every one of those anti-AIers has turned their hate of the concept into art. And we'd be willing to bet that, though he may be part of a larger number, Del Toro is the only anti-AI activist to use imbue his feelings into an adaptation of the very first horror novel.

Del Toro's Frankenstein (which is in select theaters now and is coming to Netflix in November) was at least partially inspired by the Oscar-winner's feelings on generative artificial intelligence, as the man himself was only too happy to share in an interview with NPR.

"I did want it to have the arrogance of Victor [Frankenstein] be similar in some ways to the tech bros." the Hellboy and Blade II director told the outlet, "He's kind of blind, creating something without considering the consequences and I think we have to take a pause and consider where we're going."

That "we," by the way, is very much del Toro just speaking about humanity as a collective. It's not "we," in the sense of "we the creators who choose to use generative AI," because in case I haven't already made clear enough - del Toro would never be caught dead (or undead!) using those programs.

"I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested," del Toro said definitively, I'm 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak. [...] The other day, somebody wrote me an email, said, 'What is your stance on AI?' And my answer was very short. I said, 'I’d rather die.'"

Guillermo del Toro's very human-made Frankenstein arrives on Netflix November 7.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." Join Popverse's weekly explorations of the best opening moments of horror cinema in The Coldest Open, and then check out:

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.