- A new adaptation of Wuthering Heights has been slated for a release date in 2026
- The news was announced on the movie’s official Instagram account
- But fans of the Emily Brontë novel have continued to react badly to any news about the film
It’s set to be one of the biggest movies of the next few years – and now Wuthering Heights has been given an official release date.
The movie, which is based on the 1847 Emily Brontë novel, is being adapted and directed by Emerald Fennell, who is the brains behind the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman, and last year’s showstopper, Saltburn.
The adaptation will star Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, and Margot Robbie as Catherine ‘Cathy’ Earnshaw.
Sharing a graphic to the official Instagram account for the film, fans were shown a drawing of a skeletal hand holding the back of a skull – while a banner above it read ‘Valentine’s Day 2026’.
While Valentine’s is, of course, February 14, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the movie is slated to come out just in time for the day of romance, on February 13.
But while some fans were elated by the news, others took to social media to voice their negative opinions.
‘Can it have an unrelease date?’
Branding the release date as “a threat” and writing “we don’t want it”, others labelled the news as “derogatory”.
“Each word of this sentence is worse than the last,” said one user, upon reading that a Wuthering Heights release date had been confirmed. “I go to bed and pray every night this s*** doesn’t come out,” another commented.
“Hopefully it’s on February the 31st,” joked one, while someone else said, “Can it have an unrelease date.”
Others didn’t want to see Fennell at the helm of the movie – as they “begged her to stop” and “wished they’d stop giving this woman funding”.
“A crime against me, she [Fennell] needs to be locked up before it is released,” wrote one, as another agreed, “Why is she always at the scene of the crime?”
“Genuinely can’t wait for my favorite book of all time to be put through the movie equivalent of chinese water torture,” said a third.
Why are fans so mad about the remake of Wuthering Heights?
Although fans have no objection to Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, they simply don’t think they are right for the parts as Heathcliff and Cathay – with Elordi’s casting especially coming under fire.
Throughout the novel, Heathcliff is treated as an outcast due to the racism of both the Linton and Earnshaw families – so many found it curious that Elordi would be portraying the character, as he is white.
“Emily Bronte describing Heathcliff: ‘dark-skinned gipsy, ‘a little Lascar’, ‘as dark almost as if it came from the devil.’ Hollywood casting director: So basically a white man with a tan then?,” noted one fan.
Another said, “Just a not so friendly reminder: Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights is explicitly dark skin and Romani, and his experiences as a man of color influence his entire character and story as a man suffering racist abuse from his adoptive family.”
