In July 2024, Emerald Fennell announced her book-to-screen adaptation of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” on X. After a bidding war with Netflix, Warner Bros. won the rights to create the movie, which finished shooting March 27 in the United Kingdom.
Brontë’s original “Wuthering Heights” novel was published in 1847. The story follows the Earnshaw family through fostering a child and then disregarding him as a love interest to their daughter. The two characters in love, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, will be played by Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
Fans were angry when the casting was announced in 2024, as many commented on the fact Elordi is white. In the book, Brontë alludes to Heathcliff being Romani, mixed-race or North African.
Heathcliff’s race is important to the story as it is one of the reasons why the Earnshaw family does not want their daughter to be in love with him. The character is famous for being one of few early literary characters of color, so Elordi’s portrayal is contentious to readers.
Fans also think Robbie and Elordi were only cast because they are attractive A-list actors who are older than their characters in the book. Robbie is 34 and Elordi is 27, which has fans wondering how Fennell’s adaptation will handle the novel’s important doomed adolescent romance narrative.
Audiences have disagreed with previous casting decisions around age in the past, such as in Stephen Chbosky’s “Dear Evan Hansen” film adaptation in 2021. Fans criticized the casting of Ben Platt, who was 27 and playing 17-year-old Evan Hansen in the film.
Robbie and Elordi’s Australian heritage has also made people speculate on their ability to match the Yorkshire accent despite impressing audiences with an American one.
Previous adaptations of “Wuthering Heights” have also been critiqued in recent years. Writers have critiqued William Wyler’s 1939 film adaptation for its vulgar characters, confusing plot and omission of the novel’s themes of emotional abuse and domestic violence, which were integral to the plot. One reviewer stated the creators omitted half of the book in the film.
Despite this, the 1939 adaptation received eight Oscar nominations and has a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In addition to the 2026 movie being subject to negativity, Fennell has faced controversy with her past two films, “Saltburn” and “Promising Young Woman.”
“Saltburn” included two provocative scenes that disturbed many viewers, and a TikTok trend based on the film involving wealthy fans running around their mansions sparked criticism online. Some critics said “Promising Young Woman” glorified the criminal justice system and the main character’s violent actions without giving the character any depth.
Despite the controversies, some fans of “Wuthering Heights” are still excited to see the movie on Valentine’s Day 2026.
