Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are attached to star as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s forthcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
Fennell will write, direct and produce the new version of Emily Bronte’s classic novel in her third film, following 2020’s Promising Young Woman and 2023’s Saltburn, the latter of which she worked on with Elordi. Meanwhile, she also appeared alongside Robbie in last year’s summer blockbuster Barbie.
Wuthering Heights is currently in pre-production and will begin filming in the UK next year.
First published in 1847, the book details on the tumultuous relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff after they meet while living at the titular residence.
— Emerald Fennell (@emeraldfennell) July 12, 2024
Fennell announced her plans to adapt Wuthering Heights as her third feature in July, posting a surprise announcement to social media with a graphic reading, “Be with me always – Take any form – Drive me mad,” a line from the novel.
Robbie had previously praised Fennell’s directorial skills, telling Variety in an interview in January, “Emerald immerses you into a world so quickly. She’s so masterful at tone and plot.
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“She gets in your brain and she kind of taps into the most depraved parts of it, so that you’re complicit in the story. That’s the watercooler moment — the thing that people are talking about two weeks afterwards.”
There have been numerous screen adaptations of Wuthering Heights, including director William Wyler’s 1939 version that starred Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. More recent versions include a 2009 miniseries for ITV starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley and a 2011 feature starring Kaya Scodelario and James Howson.
In other news, it was confirmed in July that Robbie is expecting her first child with her husband Tom Ackerley.