In 1996 Baz Luhrmann created his model of Romeo and Juliet. On the time, critics referred to as it an adaptation for the MTV Technology, with its campy visuals, trendy soundtrack and heart-throb lead Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie turned Shakespearean drama right into a popular culture feast for the eyes.
Practically 30 years on, one thing comparable appears to be occurring with the upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s traditional novel, Wuthering Heights. It’s helmed by Emerald Fennell, the director of Promising Younger Girl and the considerably controversial Saltburn, which additionally starred Jacob Elordi.
After months of weird rumours, we’ve lastly received a trailer for the movie, which is slated for a February 2026 launch… and it appears we’re in for a wild trip.
The trailer gives the look that the Nineteenth-century romantic sensibility has been translated for a up to date viewers immersed in Instagram aesthetics, social media posts, and BookTok smut.
Listed here are 4 explanation why it’s clearly aimed toward Gen Z.
1. The marketing-driven casting
Don’t get me mistaken: I like Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie very a lot – they’re each gifted actors and, to place it bluntly, lovely folks. On the similar time, I believe casting them as Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw is a mistake.
There are ongoing debates on the web in regards to the ethnicity of the Wuthering Heights’ rogue – so let’s hear from Emily Brontë herself:
However Mr. Heathcliff varieties a singular distinction to his abode and magnificence of dwelling. He’s a dark-skinned gipsy in facet, in costume and manners a gentleman.
Let’s be clear: Heathcliff isn’t a Caucasian man, and his race is important to the plot. Casting an actor of color within the function of an individual of color would appear the least controversial choice (who am I kidding, after all, there’d be a web-based row). It’s arduous to imagine that when the filmmakers had the chance to take action, they selected an Australian as a substitute.
As for Catherine Earnshaw, Margot Robbie isn’t the fitting age to play her. Heathcliff’s beloved seems within the novel as a baby and a teen. With all due respect to the 35-year-old Robbie, it’s arduous to imagine her as an 18-year-old. Additionally, she’s blonde, not like the dark-haired Cathy.
To promote the variation of a multi-layered Gothic novel to younger viewers, Fennell and Warner Bros. wanted actors who would draw to the cinemas a technology preferring to stream films at residence. The celebs of Barbie and Euphoria have been good for this objective, regardless of having little in widespread with the characters within the guide.
Fortunately for Wuthering Heights, Elordi and Robbie are very proficient actors – no less than, we will ensure that they each will give passionate performances.
Warner Bros.
2. Extremely stylised visible design makes for viral clips
The story of Heathcliff and Catherine takes place primarily between 1771 and 1784. The pictures from the set indicated that Fennell wasn’t paying a lot consideration to historic accuracy (was I the one one who thought Catherine’s marriage ceremony robe resembled Princess Diana’s?). The primary teaser confirmed these suspicions.
Happily, it’s not simply an ignorant disregard for historic analysis, however deliberate stylisation. The vivid colors, furnishings from completely different eras, dreamy lighting, and surreal decorations look fascinating and can absolutely enchantment to Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest customers. I can already think about influencers creating Cathy-style outfits or Wuthering Heights-inspired make-up.
That’s not a nasty factor in itself. If Yórgos Lánthimos can current highly-stylised variations of bygone eras in The Favorite and The Poor Issues, and Guillermo del Toro can accomplish that in Frankenstein, then why can’t Emerald Fennell? I’m all in for artistic eclecticism, so long as it’s well-thought-out and serves the story.
3. Amplifying the novel’s intercourse and violence
After the primary take a look at screenings of Wuthering Heights, rumours unfold in regards to the perverse scenes of intercourse and violence, in addition to the suggestive symbols that saturate Fennell’s movie. And that is one thing that would concern followers of the novel.
Brontë’s guide is darkish and violent. Nonetheless, the author doesn’t depend on easy shockers; she achieves a downbeat vibe primarily by profound psychological portraits, a dismal setting, and ambiguity. Wuthering Heights is a narrative of want, hatred, poisonous love, violence, and dependancy. As if that weren’t sufficient, the instances wherein Heathcliff and Catherine lived have been harsh.
When graphic scenes of intercourse or violence are used to create an unvarnished portrait of the previous, I’m all for it. However as anybody who’s seen Saltburn can attest, Fennell does love a little bit of sensationalism for its personal sake. If Wuthering Heights incorporates something as meme-able as references to Jacob Elordi’s bathwater, which despatched the web right into a frenzy, it’ll create a buzz, for positive – on the similar time killing the Romantic spirit of Brontë’s novel.
Warner Bros.
4. The soundtrack by Charli XCX
The most important shock about Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is that the songs for the movie are written by Charli XCX, an enormous pop artist and Gen Z favorite.
Just lately, I’ve been considering that the pattern of utilizing up to date music in interval movies was dying out. Round 15 years in the past, it was intriguing and refreshing to listen to a pop track in a historic drama. Nonetheless, the extra such productions appeared, the extra gimmicky it turned.
I’ve nothing towards Charli XCX herself, however let’s be sincere: a pop star making songs for Wuthering Heights is an affordable transfer to draw a younger viewers to the cinemas. The track within the trailer doesn’t contribute in any respect to making a gothic ambiance; nonetheless, it might simply change into a Spotify hit.
Warner Bros.
One remark under the Wuthering Heights teaser mockingly means that the movie can be a mix of Bridgerton and 50 Shades of Gray. Though this joke captures the spirit of what we’ve seen up to now fairly nicely, I actually hope that the movie can be one thing extra.
I hope Emerald Fennell’s adaptation can be a artistic experiment and an clever play on the supply materials, moderately than a shocker for the social-media-obsessed and people with brief consideration spans.
