Guillermo del Toro Finally Answers Whether AI Belongs in His Movies

Guillermo del Toro is out promoting his Frankenstein movie, and in classic del Toro fashion, the conversation veered straight into art, tech hubris, and mortality. Short version: he is absolutely not using generative AI in his films, and he has thoughts about why.

Where del Toro stands on AI

Del Toro told NPR he would 'rather die' than bring generative AI into his work. He does not buy the idea that a machine can reproduce what he sees as distinctly human: artistry and moral reflection. His gripe, he said, is less with artificial intelligence and more with the very human short-sightedness driving it forward right now. He compared certain tech-world bravado to Victor Frankenstein charging ahead without considering the fallout, and said we should probably stop and think about where this is going. He also sees a neat (and not accidental) echo between the current AI rush and the same hubris Mary Shelley baked into the original story.

'AI, particularly generative AI - I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested. I'm 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak.'

Why Frankenstein is the perfect vehicle for this

Del Toro first saw the 1931 Frankenstein when he was seven, and he describes it as an epiphany that shaped the rest of his creative life. His upcoming take reframes the creature as a tragic hero rooted in 19th-century Romanticism. That tracks with his larger point: the story has always been about creation, consequence, and the people who think they can outsmart both.

Death, prayers, and an 'enchanted castle'

He also talked about mortality the way only del Toro does: as the metronome of our existence. He says he does not fear it anymore. A lot of that comes from his childhood, where his grandmother would pray nightly about death — heavy, sure, but it left a mark on how he processes loss and meaning. Then there is the curveball detail: after his father won the lottery in 1969, del Toro grew up in a home stuffed with books and exotic animals. He calls it 'an enchanted castle.' That is so strikingly specific it sounds like an origin myth, but it is his actual life.

• Interview: NPR, tied to his upcoming Frankenstein adaptation
• Position on tech: generative AI has no place in his films; machines can't replicate human artistry or moral reflection
• Critique: the problem is 'natural stupidity' — people deploying tech without considering consequences, a la Victor Frankenstein
• Personal lens: death as the 'metronome of our existence'; grandmother's nightly prayers shaped his worldview
• Backstory flashpoint: father's 1969 lottery win; a childhood home filled with books and exotic animals
• Formative moment: saw the 1931 Frankenstein at age seven, called it an epiphany
• The new film: reimagines the creature as a Romantic-era tragic hero
• Resume reminder: Oscar winner for The Shape of Water

The takeaway

Del Toro is making a Frankenstein that doubles as a statement about responsibility in creation — art, tech, life, all of it. And if you were hoping he might dabble in generative AI, he just gave you the most definitive 'nope' possible.