In 1996 Baz Luhrmann created his model of Romeo and Juliet. On the time, critics known as it an adaptation for the MTV Era, 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 happening 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 bought a trailer for the movie, which is slated for a February 2026 launch… and it appears we’re in for a wild journey.
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 the explanation why it’s clearly aimed toward Gen Z.
1. The marketing-driven casting
Don’t get me fallacious: I like Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie very a lot – they’re each gifted actors and, to place it bluntly, stunning individuals. On the similar time, I feel 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 kinds a singular distinction to his abode and magnificence of dwelling. He’s a dark-skinned gipsy in facet, in gown and manners a gentleman.
Let’s be clear: Heathcliff isn’t a Caucasian man, and his race is significant to the plot. Casting an actor of color within the position of an individual of color would appear the least controversial resolution (who am I kidding, after all, there’d be an internet row). It’s exhausting to consider that when the filmmakers had the chance to take action, they selected an Australian as a substitute.
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As for Catherine Earnshaw, Margot Robbie isn’t the correct age to play her. Heathcliff’s beloved seems within the novel as a toddler and a teen. With all due respect to the 35-year-old Robbie, it’s exhausting to consider her as an 18-year-old. Additionally, she’s blonde, not like the dark-haired Cathy.
To promote the difference 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 motion pictures at dwelling. The celebs of Barbie and Euphoria have been good for this function, regardless of having little in frequent with the characters within the guide.
Fortunately for Wuthering Heights, Elordi and Robbie are very gifted actors – at the very least, we are able to make certain 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 images from the set indicated that Fennell wasn’t paying a lot consideration to historic accuracy (was I the one one who thought Catherine’s wedding ceremony robe resembled Princess Diana’s?). The primary teaser confirmed these suspicions.
Fortuitously, 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 certainly attraction 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 foul 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 inventive eclecticism, so long as it’s well-thought-out and serves the story.
Warner Bros.
3. Amplifying the novel’s intercourse and violence
After the primary check 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 might concern followers of the novel.
Brontë’s guide is darkish and violent. Nevertheless, the author doesn’t depend on easy shockers; she achieves a downbeat vibe primarily by way of profound psychological portraits, a depressing setting, and ambiguity. Wuthering Heights is a narrative of need, hatred, poisonous love, violence, and dependancy. As if that weren’t sufficient, the occasions during which 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 comprises 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.
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4. The soundtrack by Charli XCX
The largest 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.
Not too long ago, I’ve been pondering that the development 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 music in a historic drama. Nevertheless, 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 music within the trailer doesn’t contribute in any respect to making a gothic ambiance; nevertheless, it could simply turn into a Spotify hit.
Warner Bros.
One remark under the Wuthering Heights teaser mockingly means that the movie might be a mixture of Bridgerton and 50 Shades of Gray. Though this joke captures the spirit of what we’ve seen up to now fairly properly, I actually hope that the movie might be one thing extra.
I hope Emerald Fennell’s adaptation might be a inventive experiment and an clever play on the supply materials, slightly than a shocker for the social-media-obsessed and people with brief consideration spans.