Veteran horror actor Sir Christopher Lee, who played the Creature in Hammer Studio's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), was asked at the premiere of this film about the differences between his version and this new adaptation. Lee replied, "About forty years and forty million dollars."
Producer Francis Ford Coppola had originally planned to direct this movie as a companion piece to Dracula (1992), but eventually stepped back to let Sir Kenneth Branagh direct. Coppola later regretted his decision after several disagreements with Branagh during filming.
The producers were hesitant about casting John Cleese as Professor Waldman since he was considered a comic actor with the looks to match. To make Cleese appear more serious, they fitted him with a prosthetic chin and teeth that made his looks more sharp and grave.
Sir Kenneth Branagh apparently banned the term "monster" from the set. He insisted that everyone refer to Robert De Niro's character the way he was identified in the credits, as "The Sharp-Featured Man".