Wuthering Heights director breaks silence on controversial casting of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi

by

Emerald Fennell has addressed the worries of certain Emily Brontë fans, who didn’t react positively to the trailer for her new Wuthering Heights movie adaptation.

The initial glimpse of Fennell’s adaptation, featuring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine ‘Cathy’ Earnshaw and Heathcliff, was released earlier this month, but it didn’t impress fans of the original Wuthering Heights novel.

As a fan, I’ve seen some discussion about the casting choices, and it seems like a lot of people are questioning the ages of the actors playing the main characters. There’s also been some talk about how Heathcliff’s background is being portrayed. It’s definitely sparked some debate among us fans!

What to Read Next

In Emily Brontë’s famous 1847 novel, both Cathy and Heathcliff are young-teenagers or just a bit older. Cathy is around 18 years old when she passes away while giving birth.

Fennell’s version notably makes the characters older – Elordi is 28 and Robbie is 35. The casting of the Euphoria star, in particular, has effectively removed Heathcliff’s previously implied non-white heritage. Brontë describes the character as “dark-skinned,” and many have theorized he was Black.

Speaking from Haworth, West Yorkshire – the town where Brontë wrote her novel – Fennell has recently shared the reasoning behind her choices for the actors in the film.

The director explained that Robbie, although she maintained her blonde hair for the part even though the character Cathy was a brunette in the original story, is “unlike anyone I’ve ever encountered – ever – and that’s what I connected with when portraying Cathy” (as reported by BBC News).

Fennell (Saltburn) also commented that the Barbie actress is “incredibly beautiful, captivating, and full of unexpected qualities-the kind of person, much like the character Cathy, who could seemingly talk her way out of any situation.”

“I think honestly she could commit a killing spree and nobody would mind,” the director joked.

“And that is who Cathy is to me. Cathy is somebody who just pushes to see how far she can go.”

She went on to say: “It really required someone like Margot, who is a star – and a phenomenal actress, at that – but also someone with a certain presence, a truly captivating and almost divine power, that drives people wild.”

Fennell mentioned that she first noticed actor Elordi – whom she collaborated with on Saltburn – resembled the depiction of Heathcliff from the original Wuthering Heights book cover she encountered.

I was considering adapting [Wuthering Heights], and it struck me that he was perfect for the role… he’s a truly unexpected actor,” Fennell explained.

It appears her initial encounter with Wuthering Heights when she was 14 significantly influenced the direct and forthright style of her reimagining of the story.

She explained she aimed to recreate the initial emotional impact the work had on her. “It’s, like, a very basic, instinctive reaction – almost sexual,” she said.

The movie will include a lot of dialogue taken directly from Brontë’s book. However, the trailer indicates that it will have a more explicitly sensual feel than the novel itself.

Fennell clarified that the parts she added to Brontë’s story were details she believed she recalled from reading it initially, but upon rereading, she discovered they weren’t actually in the original text. She had mistakenly remembered them as being present.

She explained it was where she found answers as a 14-year-old, and that making the movie let her experience what it would be like to achieve her childhood dream – something she described as both positive and challenging. She added, “It’s where I filled in the gaps aged 14,” and that making the movie had allowed her to “see what it would feel like to fulfil my 14-year-old wish, which is both good and bad”.

In addition to Robbie and Elordi, the cast of Wuthering Heights includes Owen Cooper, known for his role in Adolescence, as the young Heathcliff. Also starring are Alison Oliver from Saltburn, Shazad Latif of Magpie, Hong Chau, and Ewan Mitchell, who appears in House of the Dragon.

Wuthering Heights is released in cinemas on 14 February 2025.

The new edition of Living Legends is here! Buy Gaga in newsagents or online, priced at just £8.99.

Read More

2025-09-29 20:20