Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' Cast Already Causing Controversy

It’s not like the film world wasn’t already buzzing about director Emerald Fennell’s forthcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights. After all, her established interests in boundary-breaking female characters and class tensions make her a natural fit to tackle Brontë’s often unhinged story of doomed romance and generational trauma. But the discourse seems to have reached new heights now that she’s found her leading actors, casting Saltburn (and Euphoria) heartthrob Jacob Elordi in the role of Heathcliff opposite Margot Robbie (Barbie) as Catherine Earnshaw.

Heathcliff and Catherine’s desperate, frequently toxic romance is the emotional linchpin around which much of Brontë’s story of obsession and tragedy turns. It also encompasses many themes Fennell seems to enjoy exploring as a storyteller. But one of the most interesting readings of the novels which have emerged in the 21st century is that Heathcliff, described in the first chapter as “a dark-skinned gypsy, in aspect,” is Black (or at least mixed-race) rather than just a dark-haired, unkempt white dude in need of a wash.

Wuthering Heights has been adapted many times, in formats ranging from television series and feature films to operas and even a stage musical. Starry names like Laurence Olivier, Charlton Heston, Timothy Dalton, Ralph Fiennes, and Tom Hardy have played Heathcliff, and Brontë’s story has been told (and retold) in languages including French, Spanish, Filipino, Hindi, and Japanese. The most recent film adaptation was 2011’s Wuthering Heights, which starred Kaya Scodelario as Catherine and is notable for being one of the very few adaptations that have attempted to explore Heathcliff’s mixed-race status by casting a Black actor, James Howson, as Heathcliff.