The faithfulness of 2026’sWuthering Heightshas been addressed by the casting director. The upcoming reimagining of the iconic 1847 novel by Emily Brontë is the next movie written and directed byPrommising Young WomanandSaltburn’s Emerald Fennell. Fennell’sWuthering Heightsadaptationstars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as legendary characters Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff respectively, opposite an ensemble cast that includes Hong Chau as Nelly Dean, Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton, Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton, Charlotte Mellington as Young Catherine, Owen Cooper as Young Heathcliff, and Vy Nguyen as Young Nelly.
PerDeadline, casting director Kharmel Cochrane recently spoke aboutWuthering Heightsduring a Q&A at the Sands Film Festival in St Andrews, Scotland. She reacted to an Instagram comment insulting the casting, saying that the set design and the costume design - which “may or may not [include]a dog collar” - will be even more shocking.She argues that accuracy to the source material is not necessarybecause the movie “is not based on real life. It’s all art.” She suggested to “just wait till you see it” and experience the full vision of Emerald Fennell. Read Cochrane’s full quote below:
There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot. But just wait till you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not. But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.
There’s definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy. Wait until you see the set design, because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it.
What This Means For Wuthering Heights
Emerald Fennell Is Putting Her Own Spin On The Novel
From the way that Kharmel Cochrane describesWuthering Heights, it seems that theJacob Elordi moviewill be closer to his previous collaboration with Emerald Fennell,Saltburn, than a straight adaptation. AlthoughPromising Young Womancontained a number of provocative moments,Saltburnis noted for pushing the envelope even furtherwith many shocking and titillating scenes. From Cohrane’s description of the dog collar incorporated into the costume design and her tease of the set design, it seems that this trend will continue in the director’s upcoming period piece.
Jacob Elordi played wealthy playboy Felix Catton inSaltburn, opposite an ensemble cast that included Barry Keoghan, Archie Madekwe, Alison Oliver, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, and Carey Mulligan.
When 2026’sWuthering Heightswas first announced, it was unknown what tone Emerald Fennell would use while approaching the source material. Her previous work as a writer-director was entirely original, so there was no precedent for how she might apply her filmmaking sensibilities to a pre-existing work. However, this tease seemingly confirms that theMargot Robbie moviewill bea full-on reimagining of the story along the same lines as Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 adaptationThe Great Gatsby, which was a period piece but utilized modern music and filmmaking sensibilities.
Our Take On The Wuthering Heights Update
Fennell’s Approach Seems Promising
The fact that Emerald Fennell seems to be taking liberties with the source material inWuthering Heightsis an exciting prospect, becausethere have already been numerous adaptations of the Brontë work that have been more faithful. In fact, the novel has already been brought to the big and small screens more than two dozen times - notably in a 1939 movie starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier and a 1992 version starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes - so any new element could help it stand out among the crowd.
