Emerald Fennell has announced her adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, reteaming with Jacob Elordi from Saltburn. The film stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and arrives in theaters on February 13, 2026, distributed by Warner Bros. It has sparked backlash over the casting of Elordi as Heathcliff due to the character’s ambiguous ethnicity in the novel.
Emerald Fennell, who wrote and directed Saltburn in 2023 and won an Oscar for the original screenplay of Promising Young Woman in 2020, revealed her next project via X. The adaptation preserves Emily Brontë’s dialogue, as Fennell stated at the Los Angeles premiere of Saltburn: “preserving Emily Brontë’s dialogue” was one of her main goals.
Jacob Elordi portrays Heathcliff, the adopted orphan at the story’s core, while Margot Robbie plays Catherine Earnshaw. Additional cast includes Hong Chau as narrator Nelly Dean, Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton, Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton, Owen Cooper as young Heathcliff, and Charlotte Mellington as young Cathy. Fennell wrote, directed, and produced alongside Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment. MRC financed the project, and Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group handles distribution.
Set on the Yorkshire moors, the narrative follows the intense relationship between the Earnshaw and Linton families, framed by Mr. Lockwood learning the history from servant Nelly Dean. The tragic love story centers on Heathcliff and Catherine. Brontë published the novel in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell.
The casting of Elordi as Heathcliff has drawn criticism, as the book describes him with phrases suggesting he was not white, though his ethnicity remains ambiguous. Fans also noted Catherine’s brown hair in the novel. A teaser trailer released in early September features Charli xcx’s “Everything is romantic (feat. Caroline Polachek).” Charli xcx contributed a companion soundtrack album.
During promotion, Robbie shared in a BBC Radio 2 interview that she watched Rachel McAdams’ audition for The Notebook (2004) before her own auditions to emulate her commitment: “I used to watch Rachel McAdams’ audition for ‘The Notebook’ before I would go to auditions. She’s so good, and she’s so charming and real, and like, in it.” Robbie credited this ritual and praised McAdams’ kindness from their work on About Time (2013). The film targets a $50 million opening weekend.
Previous adaptations include Andrea Arnold’s 2011 film with Kaya Scodelario and James Howson, Peter Kominsky’s 1992 version starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, William Wyler’s 1939 movie with Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, and a 2009 TV miniseries led by Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley.
