- A new version of Wuthering Heights will be released next February 14
- And after a first-look poster for the movie dropped this weekend, it’s safe to say that fans are less than impressed
- The film is being directed by Emerald Fennell, and will star Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie
A first-look teaser of the new Wuthering Heights adaptation was released this weekend – and fans have had, umm, quite a lot to say on the matter.
From the mind of Saltburn writer and director Emerald Fennell, the movie poster doesn’t give much away. But viewers can see the fingers of a man placed seductively in a woman’s mouth – thought to be actors Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, who will play Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw in the film.
While the poster was obviously released to gain a reaction from fans, comments online about the imagery were largely unfavorable.
First look at Emerald Fennell’s ‘WUTHERING HEIGHTS’ starring Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi.
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) February 14, 2025
In theaters February 14, 2026. pic.twitter.com/IQPlNplMDD
In a strong start, one fan wrote, “‘Go to hell’ is basic. ‘I hope your favourite gothic fiction about mental illness, racism, classism and dysfunctional romance is adapted into eroticized s*** from butt’ is terrifying. It’s possible. It’s happening to me.”
Another agreed.
“Sure art is open to interpretation but who the f*** has interpreted wuthering heights like this?? Euphoria a** poster,” they said.
Someone else went on, “I don’t think we’re prepared for how s*** from a** dark booktok romance this adaptation is going to be.”
Others tried to understand Fennell’s vision… but struggled.
“I’m gonna be honest it’s a completely valid interpretation to play Cathy and Heathcliff very sexily,” tried one fan, “but marketing the film based on that is an extremely bad sign.”
‘Put the pen down!’
no https://t.co/ZNkJEnNAEQ pic.twitter.com/D7qFLUEa8Z
— lorena (@heartshapedpoem) February 14, 2025
Other fans begged for Fennell to “put her pen down” and leave the project – which is based on the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë – alone.
“Genuinely, who asked for this? Who the hell wants this?,” questioned another follower. “Who out there said, ‘Yeah uhh let me get ANOTHER whitecliff movie where it’s a blatant misunderstanding of the book’.
“We have enough of those. There’s plenty of those. Fennell, please put the pen down.”
Another concurred.
“Emerald Fennell makes films about sex/relationships thinking she’s being provocative, but really she’s just the embodiment of a rich, middle-class straight person’s boring sameness,” they ranted. “The over the top horny is so tacky when you can tell the filmmaker thinks it’s taboo.”
Someone else had high hopes… for Fennell to never direct a movie again.
“I hope this movie is so expensive that it’s a threat to the industry to ever let Fennell direct again,” they wished. “I hope they shoot everything in Dubai and digitally alter the background to make it look like the north of England. I hope they get Beyonce to do marketing.”
While another simply put, “We, as a society, need to move on from Emerald Fennell.”
Why are Wuthering Heights fans so angry about the new adaptation?
https://t.co/KRLpe6oxFW pic.twitter.com/fEalrK5E4h
— jolien (@_mirroredheart) February 14, 2025
The decision to cast Elordi as Brontë’s Byronic hero had already been met with controversy.
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.”
