‘You either die a Batman, or live long enough to see yourself become the Jared Leto Joker’: First look at Christian Bale’s Frankenstein already has people talking

Actor and director Maggie Gyllenhaal is currently working on a project titled The Bride, which aims to be a reimagining of the iconic Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein tale, this time set in Chicago during the 1930s.

What we know so far

The film stars Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale as the bride and the monster respectively, as well as Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard and Annette Bening.

The Bride is Maggie’s second directorial credit after 2021’s Oscar-nominated The Lost Daughter, and is set for a release in October 2025.

While little is known about the overall plot and tone of the film, today we got our first look from the set, which was shared by Maggie herself on Instagram and revealed the character design for Jessie Buckley’s bride:

As well as Christian Bale’s Frankenstein monster, and…um…yeah:

As anyone chronically online could expect, users were quick to react the photo of Christian and his character’s design, which had pretty much everyone in agreement that Christian's heavily tattooed, slicked-back hair styling was reminiscent of Jared Leto’s Joker in the 2016 version of the critically panned Suicide Squad. 

Jared Leto's Joker as inspiration?

In case you (somehow) forgot, Jared starred as a reimagined version of the classic Joker character in the film, and his character’s design was decidedly more alternative than the classic clown prince of the past, featuring many tattoos and a more modern energy.

However, this rendition was not received well by critics and viewers alike, and Jared’s Joker design (and disposition) was even significantly altered for his cameo in Zack Synder’s Justice League.

But back to Christian Bale's Frankenstein. As soon as the photo was released, you better believe fans were quick to log online to share their reactions:

And this isn’t the first time this "Jared Leto Jokerfication" has occurred, even in very recent memory.

Other 'jokerfied' characters in pop culture

You see, there’s also a reboot of the classic cult sensation, The Crow, coming out soon, and when Bill Skarsgård’s character design was revealed this February, it received an almost identical reception:

What the final interpretation of the Frankenstein monster in Maggie’s film will be will have to wait until the movie’s release next year, so, until then—let’s see how many more characters get Joker-fied.

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