In February of 2026, Emerald Fennell’s movie adaptation of Emily Brontë’s only published novel Wuthering Heights is set to release in theaters just in time for Valentine’s Day. Only one teaser for the film has been released so far, but readers of the novel have already raised questions on the accuracy to the film’s source material, particularly with the selection of actors who are to portray Brontë’s thoroughly illustrated characters. Margot Robbie is Catherine (Cathy) Earnshaw, a young woman facing the conflicts of her heart and mind that will drive her to insanity, and Heathcliff—played by Jacob Elordi—counters her as the object of her dark desires, and his equal infatuation with her. It’s no doubt that these big names will bring traction to a book for which praises are long overdue, so why are readers already up in arms?
In a quick synopsis, Wuthering Heights is the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who is found by the father of the Earnshaw family while he is on a business trip. Heathcliff faces much torment from the majority of his adoptive family as he does not speak English and appears to have some instinctive tendencies of anger and violence. He is ostracized by all but Catherine Earnshaw, whose fascination with Heathcliff’s peculiar nature quickly forms a lasting friendship—though Heathcliff’s attachment to her will be tested when it comes time for her to marry a suitor. Cathy, heartbroken over this decision and reluctant to follow her family’s wishes, chooses the rich neighboring son of the Linton’s over her true love. Heathcliff allows his rage and jealousy to consume him, driving his obsession with Catherine. His resentment festers over a number of years, watching his true love from afar, until his desire for revenge on the loss of a primordial kind of love begins to seep into all who surround him.
One of the main factors of Heathcliff’s outcast is his race, and while it is never explicitly stated by Brontë, it is clear early on in the novel that his character is not white. One character, a tenant on Heathcliff’s property, describes him as follows on page 15: “But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire.” Race also plays an important role in Cathy’s choice of marriage because, at the time, her family would have found it degrading of moral and social status for her to marry Heathcliff. To many readers, the aversion to this new movie came right after Heathcliff’s casting announcement. Thus, creating this controversy of race and the following question: why Jacob Elordi? Will this ambiguity around Heathcliff’s origins and the racial profiling he faces be removed from the storyline entirely? Will Elordi be playing a character of a racial and ethnic background to which he has no connection? In our modern, progressive age of film, why would an actor who does not possess a similar racial description to this character be cast?
The choice for Robbie to play Catherine has been questioned as well, but more for her age than for her looks. Spoiler alert: Catherine dies of childbirth complications at the age of 19 midway through the novel, and the blatant argument from fans is that Robbie is 35 years old. It would not be the first time an adult was cast as a teenager who has barely passed adolescence, but again, questions of changes to the storyline arise. Catherine’s permanent, haunting youth is what drives Heathcliff to madness while he continues to age, as he had learned to accept growth through their childhood friendship, and growing and changing alongside one another. Will the ages in which these significant events occur for the couple be altered? Or will the audience just have to accept that 30s are becoming the new teens?
Fennell, the director of “Wuthering Heights,” is notorious for her previous films Promising Young Woman and Saltburn that left many audience members stunned. Though she is known for her bold and provocative storylines, the teaser for “Wuthering Heights” shocked fans of the novel with allusions to scenes that were sexual in nature, ones that Brontë’s work purposefully excluded. The depiction of the intense passion that surrounds Catherine and Heathcliff was skillfully delineated without the characters ever coming close to intimacy, because it wasn’t something they needed to enact to prove their love existed. It was a passion of destruction, not creation, that strengthened their bond.
As for fan theories, one woman’s perspective went viral on TikTok not long after the teaser was released on Sept. 3, when she commented on the quotation marks that are included as a part of the movie’s title. Her speculation? The movie is not a true adaptation—as could be assumed by many fans already—but rather an external story. The woman we see Robbie playing may not be Catherine at all; instead, this character could be reading the novel and envisioning herself in Catherine’s place, melding two storylines together. This theory, then, would excuse the controversy over Robbie’s age, as well as other details noticed in the trailer. As this theorist points out, there are two different stylistic eras of clothing worn by the actors: is this a separation of a new narrative and an old novel, or is this simply a mistake on the production’s part?
Regardless of what may or may not be true, as a reader and lover of this book who studied it for three months during my high school AP Literature course, I highly encourage anyone with the slightest of interest to pick up Brontë’s novel. As if the quote, “whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” isn’t enough incentive on its own to run to the nearest Barnes & Noble. It is an excellently written gothic romance that leaves every reader longing to find their Heathcliff… at least, up until the second portion of the book. The gloomy atmosphere and dark, obsessive tones make it the perfect read for winter. By the time you’re finished with it, you’ll be able to walk into the theater knowing that you read Catherine and Heathcliff’s destructive love story before the new movie makes or breaks a newfound love of Brontë’s literary expertise.