The criticism was as immediate as expected nowadays, director and actress Emerald Fennell posted the logo of her new project in July 2024 and purists and critics immediately jumped with the speech ‘I haven’t seen it, but I didn’t like it’.

“Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad!”, Emerald quoted Heathcliff’s famous line in Wuthering Heights, with the image of a deconstructed skeleton apparently preparing a potion. “Artwork by the incredible Katie Buckley”, she warns in the post. And it really is a beautiful image.

Even more beautiful, and neurotic, is Heathcliff’s full declaration to his beloved Cathy: “Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!” he says. The same passage inspired singer Kate Bush to write the classic Wuthering Heights, which I hope will be on the soundtrack!

The repercussion of the film that is being prepared for filming gained more attention when Emerald announced that it would give the role of Heathcliff to Jacob Elordi and that Cathy would be played by Margot Robbie. A very strange casting considering that Cathy in the role is younger than Heathcliff and with the actor, it is the opposite. And even more delicate, there is the issue of Heathcliff’s ethnicity weighing against it too.

This week three new actors were announced, proving that there will be diversity, but not the expected one. Hong Chau will be Nelly Dean, the narrator of the book; Alison Oliver who worked with Jacob in Saltburn will be the long-suffering Isabella Linton and Shazad Latif will be Edgar Linton. Other names have not yet been announced, but the main cast of the plot is already formed and it is curious!

Wuthering Heights marks the first adaptation work by Emerald Fennell, who has already won an Oscar and has had success with original scripts. The Warner production only got off the ground after a fierce bidding war with the American studio winning the remake rights. According to what was announced, the director’s vision is to “make something that channels the desire and pain of the novel, while adding her own distinct sensibility and beautiful aesthetic”.

I believe in the director’s talent for updating the drama and presenting something thought-provoking. The most beloved version of the story is the 1939 one, with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, but the 1970 versions, with Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall, and the 1992 version, with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, are also praised. For me, the 1992 version was the one that remained most faithful to Emily Brönte‘s story; the others skipped the most painful part of the story.

There were also TV adaptations, such as the 1978 version, starring Ken Hutchison and Kay Adshead, and the 2009 version, starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, but only the most recent remake, from 2011, included the correct ethnicity of Heathcliff with actor James Howson, which featured Kaya Scodelario as Cathy.

We’ll keep an eye out for any news!

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