US EditionDean's A-List Interview: 'Wuthering Heights' stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi
Emerald Fennell’s adaptation reimagines Brontë’s dialogue and characters, sparking debate over Jacob Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff and drawing mixed critical reviews.
- On February 13, 2026, Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights opened in cinemas, starring Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff.
- Emerald Fennell said she aimed to preserve Emily Brontë's dialogue and reimagined characters, including giving Nelly Dean a new backstory, as her personal fantasy of the novel.
- Casting critics argue Elordi's casting risks whitewashing the role, as Emily Brontë's novel describes Heathcliff as "dark-skinned" and scholars debate his Brown, Indian-linked, or Ashanti heritage.
- Critics are divided on the film's merits, with some strong positive reviews praising the stunning visuals, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi's chemistry, and Hong Chau's narration.
- The release is likely to kickstart broader conversations about representation, sparking thinkpieces while commentators urge support for Black and Brown filmmakers over casting debates.
24 Articles
24 Articles
The Independent
The Independent (US)Wuthering Heights review – Emerald Fennell’s adaptation is astonishingly bad
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s performances are almost pushed to the border of pantomime, while Fennell’s provocations seem to define the poor as sexual deviants and the rich as clueless prudes
Caroline Hainer likes "Saltburn" director Emerald Fennell's sex fantasy interpretation of Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights".
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights Whitewashed Heathcliff & Honestly, It Was For The Best
In Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, she cast Jacob Elordi, a white man, as Heathcliff even though the character is described as having dark skin in Brontë's book. I argue that wishing for a non-white Heathcliff in this adaptation is a waste of time and the movie is actually better off as it is.
Everything We Know About Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ So Far
Following the Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan-starring Saltburn (2023), which she wrote and directed, Emerald Fennell has reteamed with Elordi for her take on Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The writer and director of Promising Young Woman (2020), who won an Oscar for the latter original screenplay, announced her next project via X. The film has received some backlash for the casting decision of main character Heathcliff, which we will get in…
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- 64% of the sources lean Left
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