Emerald Fennell turns to a classic after Saltburn’s shockwaves
Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is getting a fresh big-screen run, with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi attached and Emerald Fennell in the director’s chair for a planned 2026 release. It’s a sharp pivot with clear echoes: after Saltburn’s cold, razor-edged take on obsession and class, Fennell is steering into one of literature’s most volatile love stories.
Reports linking Robbie and Elordi to the project have ignited casting debates and a wave of fan theories. Who plays whom? Will Fennell go period-accurate or twist the setting? As of now, roles, studio details, and a production timetable haven’t been publicly confirmed. What’s driving the buzz is the creative triangle: Fennell’s taste for messy desire, Robbie’s star power and producing savvy, and Elordi’s recent run of brooding, complicated characters.
Some outlets floated claims that Robbie compared the new adaptation to Saltburn in tone, even calling it wilder. We couldn’t access the original source for those comments, so treat that chatter as unverified for now. Still, the comparison makes sense. Brontë’s novel is a storm of jealousy, inheritance, and social cruelty. Saltburn mined similar ground—privilege, obsession, and the fallout when an outsider invades a sealed-off world.
Robbie’s involvement raises a practical question: will her banner, LuckyChap, join the production? She’s leaned into material that mixes populist draw with sharp edges—think Barbie’s cultural punch paired with awards-season ambitions elsewhere. Elordi, meanwhile, has shifted from teen TV fame to darker, prestige-leaning roles, including Saltburn and portraying Elvis in Priscilla. Fennell already has an Oscar for Promising Young Woman and a knack for unsettling audiences without losing them. The trio signals a moody, muscular adaptation rather than a polite period piece.
Brontë’s book has a long screen history. William Wyler’s 1939 version set the template for Gothic romance on film. The 1992 take with Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes leaned into tragic grandeur. Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation stripped it back—raw texture, harsh weather, and less gloss. If Fennell follows her instincts, expect prickle and bite: spare dialogue when it matters, class dynamics front and center, and an atmosphere that feels damp, windy, and a little dangerous.
There’s also the question of tone. Do we get the feral, near-unnerving emotional pitch of the novel, or a cleaner, awards-friendly translation? Fennell’s work suggests she’ll favor difficult edges over tidy catharsis. That could mean a Heathcliff who feels truly alienated rather than romanticized, a Catherine driven by pride, fear, and environment rather than cliché romance beats, and a house that feels like a living organism—hostile, heavy, hungry.
What we know, what we don’t, and what to watch
Here’s the current picture based on what’s surfaced publicly, plus the big unknowns still hanging over the project.
- Attachments: Robbie and Elordi are attached to star; Emerald Fennell is set to direct.
- Timing: Targeted for 2026, with no confirmed production start or release window yet.
- Roles: Not announced. Fans are speculating, but nothing official has been shared.
- Source chatter: Claims about Robbie comparing the project’s intensity to Saltburn remain unverified without a direct source.
- Creative questions: Will Fennell keep the Yorkshire moors and period setting, or bend time and place to sharpen class themes for a modern audience?
Beyond the headlines, the adaptation choice fits the market. Studios want recognizable titles that still feel risky and adult. Wuthering Heights is both: famous, but hard to get right. It demands strong casting chemistry, harsh weather logistics, and a clear point of view on class and cruelty. If Fennell sticks close to the book’s corrosive heart, she could deliver a version that feels new because it refuses to soften the characters’ worst instincts.
Keep an eye on the next round of announcements: producers, the cinematographer, the composer, and any hint of where they’ll shoot. Those choices will tell us whether this is a lush prestige play or a stripped, storm-beaten psychological drama. Either way, a Fennell-led Wuthering Heights with Robbie and Elordi is the kind of swing that could dominate the 2026 conversation—and, if it lands, the awards circuit right after.