The trailer for “Wuthering Heights” (2026) was released Sept. 3, giving us a first look at the adaptation by Emerald Fennel, writer and director of “Promising Young Woman” (2020) and “Saltburn” (2023). With stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the casting choices—particularly Elordi as Heathcliff—sparked debate among fans.
Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel of the same name follows two families and the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, played by Robbie and Elordi respectively. Some fans of the book have taken issue. The casting director for the movie, Kharmel Cochrane, talked about the cast at Scotland’s Sands Film Festival earlier this year.
“But you really don’t need to be accurate,” Cochrane said. “It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”
In the novel, Heathcliff is described once as “dark-skinned,” but his race is otherwise not specified. Some have seen the casting of Jacob Elordi, a white actor, as an insulting choice. Senior vocal performance major Artie Smith criticized the casting.
“Based on what I’ve observed from other people, it’s been very whitewashed,” Smith said. “It’s taking away from the heart of the story. And saying, ‘It’s just a book, it doesn’t matter’ when their races are very prominent to the story is wrong.”
The choice of high-profile actors and the use of popular music in the trailer raised concerns among some fans about the accuracy of the adaptation, including sophomore communication major Braden Lofton.
“[Elordi] is the oasis to many lonely movie watchers looking for a male lead to gravitate to,” Lofton said. “Between that and choosing Charli XCX for the soundtrack, this movie is obviously more concerned with being the topic of young peoples’ entertainment industry gossip than faithfully portraying the adapted material.”
Regardless of opinion on casting, the accuracy of the film cannot be judged until its release on Valentine’s Day of 2026.
