Frankenstein director Guillermo del Toro reveals he once developed a screenplay with The Godfather's Francis Ford Coppola for an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo: "It's a Gothic Western!"

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"I have the screenplay."

Guillermo del Toro
(Image credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images)

If all of the films Guillermo del Toro had worked on had actually been made, his filmography would have tripled in size. From the Justice League Dark movie that never was to the third Hellboy movie we’ll unfortunately never see, the Frankenstein director has had a treasure trove of projects that never saw the light of day, including one in which he collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola.

In an X conversation, del Toro replied to a post that said, “Thinking really, really hard about a GDT directed Count of Monte Cristo adaptation with Oscar [Isaac], Jacob [Elordi], and Mia [Goth] reuniting." Getting the Franken-band back together to adapt such a story would certainly be worth a watch, and del Toro himself even replied, saying that the pages were still tucked away somewhere. “I have the screenplay! Which we developed w Francis Coppola in and around 1997-1998, and its a Gothic Western!”

Like so many wonderful ideas rolling around in the Oscar-winning director’s head, he spent a lot of time trying to bring Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel to life. In 2009, he spoke to MTV (via First Showing) about the script he poured time into, saying, "It's a Gothic-Western retelling of The Count Of Monte Cristo, and I co-wrote it with Kitt Carson and Matthew Robbins around 1993 to 1998. I wrote a lot of that during the kidnapping of my father, so it’s a lot of rage. I adore that screenplay.”

At the time, there was still a clear hunger to get his take on the tale to the screen. "If I can fight, sue, or hit someone to keep the project with me, I will keep them. And I'll get them made.” Of course, with time passing and other projects getting in the way, it’s understandable for this classic story of revenge to remain locked away for a little while longer. Who knows, though? Perhaps, given how long it took him to bring The Creature to life with Frankenstein, The Count of Monte Cristo could get some time back on his to-do list.

For films that are still on course to arrive this year, check out our guide to the big movies of 2026 here.

Nick Staniforth
Nick Staniforth
Contributing Writer

Nick is a freelancer whose work can be found at Screen Rant, The Digital Fix, and Looper. He loves movies, TV, DC, and Marvel. He also believes that the best Robin Hood is still a talking fox.

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