While the story of Dr Victor Frankenstein’s dark dabblings with re-animated corpse bits and the monstrous consequences that he unleashes have naturally been the focus of most cinematic stories about him, he did have a life before he started slicing dead people. Now Summit Entertainment has decided to tap some of that, nabbing the rights to This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein.
Written by Kenneth Oppel, the book is due to hit shelves this summer from publishers Simon & Schuster. But naturally Hollywood has gotten an early peek and Summit decided to take a chance, beating out Universal (which, let’s face it, does have a bit of a history with the character).
This Dark Endeavour follows the young Victor Frankenstein who is desperate to save his deathly ill brother Konrad. Instead of a trip to Boots for some medicine, he tracks down an alchemist who sends Victor and best friend Elizabeth on a dangerous mission to find the three ingredients needed to make up the Elixir of Life.
Of course there’s trouble along the way, with betrayals and the development of a love triangle (sigh) between Victor, Konrad and Elizabeth. We really have to question the mental state of a woman who chooses between a brother who’s likely to croak at any minute and one obsessed with weird science.
It’s still early days and there’s no writer or director attached just yet, but like the book it will be full of nods to Mary Shelley’s novel and, should it hit production, will be the 549th take on the Frankenstein tale currently bubbling through the development lab. Just don't confuse it with Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein; we suspect this one will be darker.