Twitter Isn't Holding Back On Christian Bale's Look As Frankenstein's Monster
After 2016's "Suicide Squad" was roundly denounced by critics, particularly Jared Leto's Joker, one would assume no one else would want to try to emulate the character's appearance. Within a matter of weeks, two separate movie first looks have drawn comparisons to the aesthetic. Maggie Gyllenhaal's next directorial feature will be about the Bride of Frankenstein, titled "The Bride!" and she shared some images on Instagram of Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale) and his Bride (Jessie Buckley). Social media made the same joke about Bill Skarsgard's look in the new "The Crow" movie, and it would appear that joke has carried over into Bale's look as the monster, namely how he seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from Leto's Joker.
Bale's monster has somewhat of a punk vibe going for him, but the thing that most people are pointing out is that he has the word "Hope" tattooed on his chest. On X (formerly Twitter), @ClawWasTaken even wrote, "They Jared Letoified him." Leto's Joker infamously had many questionable tattoos, most notably with the word "Damaged" on his forehead. It would seem that rather than flesh out a character through plot development or thematic resonance, it's easier to slap a word onto their body that sums up what they're intended to represent.
Between this and "The Crow," it would seem Jared Leto's Joker was more influential than the public may have given him credit for initially. X has had a field day with the look, with @CCortave24 adding another possible inspiration: "Frankenstein's monster has swag. Christian Bale's version reminds me of G-Eazy & Suicide Squad's Joker."
Why so serious?
To be fair, as Frankenstein's monster, Christian Bale's character is likely a conglomeration of other people's body parts. It's not like he chose to get a "Hope" tattoo, but that piece of his body came from someone who thought that'd be a good idea. Perhaps "Hope" was the name of someone's girlfriend they wanted to have on their body, and now, the monster is going to have a bit of an awkward time trying to explain it to his Bride.
Either way, people on X have jokes, like @MadFanBoyBlack pointing toward the similarities between Bale's look and the new "The Crow" images: "Are we sure these are not just more photos from the new crow movie lol." Others drew from other items in Bale's filmography, such as @hexedits369, who uploaded a clip of Patrick Bateman (Bale's character from "American Psycho") looking at a business card along with this caption: "Look at that stitching, the subtle tattoo, the tasteful font of it all. Oh my god it even has writing on the jacket..."
Maybe Jared Leto's Joker was an inspiration after all. Bale and Leto co-starred in "American Psycho," and while they didn't star in the same DC movies, Bale was Batman at one point. It's like poetry; it rhymes.
Fans are excited to see Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley together
Christian Bale's look as Frankenstein's monster is getting most of the attention online, but Maggie Gyllenhaal's Instagram post also provides a first look at Jessie Buckley's Bride of Frankenstein. She looks phenomenal, so it's understandable social media wouldn't have as many jokes for that image. Even accounting for all of the jokes and memes, many people just seem to be excited that Bale and Buckley — two actors of exceptional caliber — are performing side by side in a Frankenstein movie. X user @Realsaroshjames summed it up nicely: "Bale x Buckley is a total W for CINEMA."
The world best prepare for not just one Frankenstein adaptation coming down the pipeline but multiple. Guillermo del Toro is directing his own Frankenstein movie, with Jacob Elordi portraying the eponymous monster. Perhaps Elordi will sport a tattoo of a word that encapsulates a theme typically affiliated with these stories, like "Innocence" or "Fear."
"The Bride!" is set to come out on October 3, 2025. As long as Christian Bale's monster doesn't say, "We live in a society," we'll consider that a win.