Cary Elwes Set to Play the President in FX’s VERY YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
Cary Elwes (Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Saw) is in final talks to join FX’s upcoming pilot Very Young Frankenstein, and according to reports, he’ll be stepping into the role of the President of the United States.
The project is inspired by Mel Brooks’ iconic 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein, and Brooks himself is onboard as an executive producer. He’s teaming up with Stefani Robinson, writer and showrunner of What We Do in the Shadows, along with Oscar winner Taika Waititi, who is set to direct the pilot.
Plot details for Very Young Frankenstein are being kept under wraps, and both FX and 20th Television are staying tight-lipped about the project.
Also producing are Garrett Basch, Brooks’ longtime partner Kevin Salter (History of the World, Part 2, Spaceballs 2), and original Young Frankenstein producer Michael Gruskoff. The series is being developed at 20th Television.
For fans of Brooks’ work, the connection to Young Frankenstein is pretty exciting. The 1974 black-and-white classic parodied gothic horror with a sharp comedic edge. It starred Gene Wilder, who co-wrote the script with Brooks, as Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of Victor Frankenstein.
Determined to distance himself from his family’s tainted reputation, Frederick, who insists his name is pronounced “Fronkensteen”, inherits the Transylvanian castle and sets out to prove his grandfather’s work wasn’t madness.
With the help of Igor, played by Marty Feldman, and a quirky supporting cast, Frederick’s own experiments inevitably spiral into chaos.
The film also featured Peter Boyle as the monster, Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher, Madeline Kahn as Frederick’s fiancée, and Teri Garr as Inga. Brooks even voiced Victor Frankenstein and a handful of other characters off-camera, adding to the film’s enduring charm.
For Elwes, Very Young Frankenstein will be a reunion with Brooks. The two first worked together on the 1993 parody Robin Hood: Men in Tights, where Elwes played the titular outlaw and Brooks directed and co-wrote. Seeing them back together again on a new comedy project feels like a perfect fit.