Cary Elwes Reunites With Mel Brooks on Very Young Frankenstein
cary elwes is working on Very Young Frankenstein, the comedy series inspired by Mel Brooks’ 1974 film Young Frankenstein. He said he has reunited with Brooks on the project, a new on-screen pairing for a series that also brings him together with Taika Waititi and Zach Galifianakis.
Brooks Returns At 99
Mel Brooks, who is 99 years old, is back as a producer on Very Young Frankenstein after the series was originally announced last year. That keeps the project tied directly to the original film’s legacy while giving it a newer creative frame with Waititi directing.
Elwes did not treat the reunion like nostalgia for its own sake. He said, “But yeah, working with him, and working with Mel again after all these years, I told him he's working harder than I am.”
Elwes And Brooks In 1993
Elwes previously worked with Brooks in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, released in 1993 and built as a spoof of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which arrived a couple of years earlier. That gap gives the new series a neat business of memory: a repeat collaboration that arrives three decades later and ties one Brooks-era comedy to another.
The cast list also includes Kristof Konrad, Kumail Nanjiani, Dolly Wells, Spencer House, and Nikki Crawford, giving the show a broader ensemble around Galifianakis as the title character. For a franchise built on recognition, the mix of returning creative DNA and first-time pairings is the part worth watching.
Waititi, Galifianakis, New Energy
Elwes said he had always wanted to work with Waititi. “I've been a huge fan of Taika's work from his days in television, and then obviously in film with Jojo [Rabbit], and back into television,” he said. He added, “The fact that he decided to go from one medium to the other shows me that he's a man who's just interested in creating.”
He was equally direct about Galifianakis: “And getting to work with Zach Galifianakis, who I'm a big fan of, who's terrific as the very young Frankenstein is really a thrill.” That makes Very Young Frankenstein less like a legacy reset and more like a controlled handoff, with Brooks' producer credit, Waititi's directing, and Elwes' return all pointing toward a series that is trying to sell familiarity without standing still.
