Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) and Margot Robbie (Barbie) are taking the moors by storm in a Wuthering Heights adaptation that already looks way spicier than anything your AP Lit class discussed.
The upcoming Valentine’s Day 2026 adaptation, helmed by Emerald Fennell, the filmmaker behind Promising Young Woman and the ultra-provocative Saltburn, hasn’t even released a trailer, but it’s already dominating timelines thanks to two converging threads: a star-driven cast debate over Robbie’s age and Elordi’s race, and early-screening chatter about graphic, boundary-pushing scenes that could make this Fennell’s most daring work to date.
With fresh arguments stoked over fidelity versus reinterpretation and discourse similar to what Emily Brontë experienced upon releasing the novel in the 1800s, Fennell managed to turn a classic tale once viewed as unconventional into a culture-war lightning rod again.
Here’s what’s confirmed, what’s contested, and what’s expected of the upcoming release.
What is 'Wuthering Heights' about?
Wuthering Heights is an 1847 novel written by Emily Brontë that recounts the passionate, chaotic, and toxic relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, with the Yorkshire moors as their battleground in a farmhouse called Wuthering Heights. Over the years, and especially as Catherine marries a man named Edgar Linton, Heathcliff becomes consumed by their bond, and his story largely shapes the story, which is told by the Wuthering Heights housekeeper, Nelly.
The novel, the only one Brontë ever wrote, is known for its exploration of themes surrounding obsession, class, and revenge. Although the text itself isn’t explicitly queer, it often has many connections with queer identity, and studies have examined the areas of lesbianism and censorship in the text.
Apart from the upcoming adaptation, the novel has received four other major feature screen adaptations, starting in 1939, followed by another in 1992, again in 2009, and the most recent in 2011.
None of them had the same amount of controversy or ire surrounding them, but none of them had Emerald Fennell behind the wheel.
Who is Emerald Fennell?
It’s likely you’re already somewhat familiar with Emerald Fennell, especially if you’ve seen Saltburn or Promising Young Woman. Whether you’re familiar with her or not, you can certainly expect to buckle up for an unforgettable and unconventional ride.
Fennell is known for pushing the boundaries onscreen. Anyone who’s seen Saltburn won’t forget that bathwater scene anytime soon, which saw a character drink the bathwater of another character who had just bathed and masturbated in it.
Besides directing, Fennell is also known for her roles as Princess Merkalova in Anna Karenina, Elsa in The Danish Girl, Nurse Patsy Mount in Call the Midwife, Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown, and Midge in Barbie. She made her directorial debut with Promising Young Woman in 2020, then made shockwaves in 2023 with the release of Saltburn, which was an explicitly gay film following the dynamic between Oscar (Barry Keoghan) and Felix (Elordi).
It also had us officially seated for anything else she ever put her creative mind into.
The casting debate
Fans split early over the casting of Elordi as Heathcliff and Robbie as Catherine. Some argue Robbie reads older than Brontë’s 18-year-old heroine, while others welcome a grown-up refocus on obsession and power.
When footage of Robbie in a wedding dress was released in March, people were quick to note that it was not faithful to the book’s time period, which made people wonder what else might not be up to par.
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Deadline’s full cast reveal announcing Hong Chau as Nelly and Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton triggered fresh debate about fidelity to the novel’s descriptions versus modern casting priorities. People honed in on Elordi as Heathcliff, whom the text describes as having darker skin without ever identifying his race or nationality. Comparatively, Linton is described as having lighter hair with blue eyes and pale skin, whereas Latif is Pakistani.
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According to Deadline, back in April, casting director Kharmel Cochrane defended her casting choice but did admit that “some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy.”
To further Cochrane’s defense, only Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation included a mixed-race actor, James Howson, in the lead, with the others played by Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hardy, and Timothy Dalton.
Apart from that, Cochrane also said in the same Deadline interview that it was “just a book” and that she didn’t “need to be accurate” because “it’s all art.”
She also warned that, if you didn’t like the casting, to “wait until you see the set design because that is even more shocking,” and added that there “may or may not be a dog collar in it.”
Turns out, there’s that and so much more…
NSFW rumors
On August 5, writer Jordan Ruimy released an early reaction post on World of Reel that left him “slightly more intrigued” about seeing the movie himself.
He said the audience reaction was “largely mixed,” with one attendee describing it as “aggressively provocative and tonally abrasive,” which sounds exactly like what we’ve come to expect from Fennell.
But it’s the film’s “hyper-sexualized imagery” that’s left everyone talking, which includes a man ejaculating mid-execution while a nun fondles his visible erection.
There’s also a scene involving a woman “strapped into horse’s reins for a BDSM-tinged encounter” and “several masturbation scenes shot in that now-signature Fennell style—intimate, clinical, and powerfully discomforting.”
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Despite some of the negative pushback, Ruimy also said it “might not be a bad thing” for this to be the most unusual Wuthering Heights adaptation to date, especially since it unapologetically diverges from its source material.
Robbie and Elordi also reportedly delivered “committed performances” that included “great chemistry,” even if they portrayed “unlikeable” and “cold” characters.
What is the release date for 'Wuthering Heights'?
As of now, no trailer has been released for the movie, but we expect one soon as the early reports start to leak out.
It’s currently set to hit theaters on February 14, 2026.