Guillermo del Toro Masterpiece That Nearly Starred Tom Cruise Disappears From Netflix Days Before Frankenstein

Heads-up if you’ve been putting off a rewatch: Guillermo del Toro’s big robots vs bigger monsters brawl, Pacific Rim, is leaving Netflix on November 1, 2025. Odd timing, considering del Toro is about to drop Frankenstein, and streamers usually lean into a director’s catalog when they’ve got a new one coming. This time, Netflix is doing a fall cleaning instead.

Pacific Rim is rolling off Netflix (and it’s not alone)

Pacific Rim has been a reliable fixture on the service for years, but it’s part of a broader library shuffle that also bumps Shrek, La La Land, Eat Pray Love, Puss in Boots, and seven Fast & Furious entries. With Frankenstein about to spark a fresh round of del Toro chatter, you’d expect more of his stuff to stick around. Then again, Frankenstein has a quieter, slow-burn hype, so maybe Netflix isn’t banking on a massive back-catalog bump this time.

The Tom Cruise that almost happened

Here’s the fun what-if. At Collider’s 10th-anniversary screening of Pacific Rim, del Toro said he seriously considered Tom Cruise for Stacker Pentecost — the stern, heroic commander role that ended up going to Idris Elba. The movie’s tonal DNA pulled from sports drama (think Hoosiers) and jet-fighter swagger (Top Gun), so Cruise as the leader tracks. The deal just didn’t land, even though Cruise was into it.

'The part that Idris Elba plays, Tom Cruise was gonna do it. The deal couldn’t be made. He wanted to do it... You know what? Let’s go with Idris Elba then. He’s a god.'

Del Toro rewrote the role for Elba, who played Pentecost as more of a grounded, paternal figure running the show. The Cruise version would’ve been a lot more hands-on in the action. File that under tantalizing alternate-universe versions. And if a third Pacific Rim ever happens, I wouldn’t hate someone dusting off that earlier, Cruise-leaning draft to make up for the… let’s say polarizing sequel.

How Frankenstein stacks up against del Toro’s hits

For years, Pacific Rim sat near the top of del Toro’s pop-culture footprint, right next to Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth. But based on early reception, Frankenstein is ready to grab some of that spotlight. On Rotten Tomatoes, Frankenstein is sitting at 86%, which puts it shoulder-to-shoulder with Hellboy II: The Golden Army as his sixth-best-rated film. Pacific Rim lands at 72%.

Frankenstein still trails five heavy hitters in his filmography: Pinocchio (96%), Pan’s Labyrinth (95%), The Devil’s Backbone (93%), The Shape of Water (92%), and Cronos (88%).

Quick stats and credits

• Pacific Rim (2013)
  Screenplay by: Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro
  Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky, Max Martini, Ron Perlman
  Runtime: 132 minutes
  Budget: $190 million
  Box office: $411 million
  Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
  IMDb: 6.9
• Frankenstein (2025)
  Screenplay by: Guillermo del Toro
  Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Lars Mikkelsen, Charles Dance, Ralph Ineson
  Runtime: 150 minutes
  Budget: $120 million
  Box office: TBD
  Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
  IMDb: 7.3

Dates to know

Frankenstein opens in theaters on October 17, 2025, then hits Netflix globally on November 7, 2025. Pacific Rim sticks around on Netflix until November 1, 2025. If you’re planning a monster-mech palate cleanser before del Toro’s new nightmare arrives, the clock’s ticking.

While we’re here: which del Toro classic is your personal favorite? I’ve got mine, but I want to hear yours.