On Sept. 3, Warner Bros. released the trailer for “Wuthering Heights”, an Emily Brontë film adaptation directed by Emerald Fennell, the director of Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. The trailer features what seems to be an explicit adaptation of the novel, as the trailer is full of sex, yearning, and passion, all with Charli xcx’s “Everything is Romantic” playing in the background.
For those who do not know, Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is about a woman named Cathy who has to choose between Heathcliff, someone of lower social standing but with whom she has an intense and passionate relationship, and Edgar Linton, someone with high social status. The novel navigates passion and socioeconomic status, as well as the consequences of love and revenge.
It’s not surprising that this adaptation takes a raunchier side of Wuthering Heights, considering Fennell’s directorial past. The film will star Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, playing the roles of Cathy and Heathcliff, respectively. Both actors have worked with Fennell before, Elordi having a starring role in Saltburn and Robbie working with her as a producer.
The novel is an integral classic in Gothic literature, so fans are hesitant about the upcoming adaptation. With that being said, there have been mixed reviews after the trailer came out, with people complaining about the over-sexualization of the movie. Some are concerned that the provocativeness may overshadow the other integral themes of the book, like abuse and revenge. Forbes wrote that some fans fear the sensual nature of the film “may dilute other themes in the book like violence and cruelty, social class, race and ethnicity.” Others are also uncertain about the casting decisions, with one article describing the cast as “too polished, too Hollywood, too Saltburn,” alluding to Robbie’s and Elordi’s takeover of Hollywood in recent years with box office hits like Barbie and Priscilla.
Not only does Charli xcx’s song play in the background of the trailer, but it announces that the film will contain original songs by the artist. It is evident that Fennell has plans to stray from the gothic novel with a seemingly modern twist. It is not unusual for period pieces to include modern soundtracks, the most recent being the Netflix show Bridgerton. The film title is also in quotation marks. This could either be an allusion to older movies having quotation marks in the titles, or it could be a hint that this film may not be a faithful adaptation at all.
While the trailer has gotten some backlash, others are applauding the trailer and embracing the lewdness of it all. Although the original source material was not incredibly explicit, its publishing was still very controversial because it showed a darker side of love and passion, challenging Victorian propriety. With this in mind, Fennell’s take may be an homage to Brontë’s challenging of societal norms.
The cast and crew have commented on the mixed reviews and are upholding the film’s direction of straying from the novel. Casting director Kharmel Cochrane retorted that “you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.” It is evident that, upon the film’s release, there will be plenty of controversy about how faithful the film will be to the source material. The movie is planned to premiere on Feb. 14, 2026.