Keeping the Momentum Going in 2026
If 2025 was the year we fully embraced the IMAX lifestyle (we practically lived at the theater), 2026 is starting off by proving we were right to obsess over the format.
We just logged on for our first press junket of the year, and it looks like our favourite large format is getting a punk makeover. We secured a spot in an exclusive webinar for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s highly anticipated new film, The Bride!.
Hosted by Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, the session was a deep dive into Gyllenhaal’s “big and hot” vision and hearing her break down how she’s using IMAX to literally expand the storytelling was the perfect way to kick off our coverage for the year.
From Quiet Truths to “Big and Hot” Monsters
The vibe was intimate but electric as Gyllenhaal opened up about shifting gears from her quiet, psychological debut, The Lost Daughter, to something massive. She explained that she wanted to see if she could tell the truth about the “monstrous aspects inside of every single one of us” but do it in a way that was “big and hot”.
The origin story she shared was wild. It didn’t start with a studio pitch; it started at a party where she saw a guy with a tattoo of the Bride of Frankenstein on his forearm. She realized that while the image is iconic, the character in the 1935 original barely exists; she is on screen for minutes, she screams, but she doesn’t speak.
Gyllenhaal’s take?
“She wakes up… and she says no”.
The “Ink” and the Punk Spirit
One of the coolest details we learned “in the room” was about the film’s aesthetic—specifically that black smudge over Jessie Buckley’s mouth seen in the trailer.
It’s not just a style choice; it’s narrative. Gyllenhaal described a lab filled with “black, unnameable, inky tar stuff” used to bring the Bride back. The smudge is a stain from that process. It’s a permanent mark of her resurrection that Gyllenhaal wanted to be “graphic,” “gorgeous,” and undeniably punk.
And when asked if the movie is punk? She didn’t hesitate.
So many people stop me on the street… and say, ‘Oh yeah, you made Frankenstein.’ And I say… ‘No, I didn’t. I made The Bride of Frankenstein’
Breaking the Rules of IMAX
Since we are huge format nerds here (obviously), our ears perked up when Gyllenhaal started talking about IMAX. She’s doing something we’ve genuinely never heard of before.
Instead of just opening up the aspect ratio for big exterior shots (the standard blockbuster move), she decided the frame should grow vertically when the story moves into a character’s mind.
When we went into someone’s mind, when we hit the magic, we would grow
She even revealed they are animating the expansion of the frame, a technique born from her own curiosity as a first-time IMAX director. It sounds trippy in the best way possible.
Why the Exclamation Point?
Finally, someone asked the question that’s been on all our minds: What is up with the title The Bride!?.
Gyllenhaal’s answer was perfect. She explained that the Bride is a woman who died without ever getting to express herself. So when she finally comes back to life, she has a “backlog” of things to say.
It comes out with an exclamation point attached to it
What to Expect
Between Christian Bale playing a “lonely” and “vulnerable” Frank, and Jessie Buckley channeling pure chaotic energy, this feels like it’s going to be the sleeper hit of the year. It’s a love story, sure, but Gyllenhaal warned us it’s about “imperfect connection” and the “darkness” that comes with it.
The Bride! hits cinemas this March. We are already planning the IMAX trip.
Katea (KT)
KT — co-host of For Your Reference. Tomatometer-Approved film & TV critic. Happens to write here too.
