Discourse surrounding the new Wuthering Heights (2026) movie
Based on the novel by Emily Bronte, the 2026 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights has upset fans online for not being faithful to the original source material.
On Feb 13th, 2026, the day before Valentine’s Day, Wuthering Heights (2026) was released in theatres. The film is an adaptation of the 1847 novel of the same name, directed by Emerald Fennell, and starred Margot Robbie as Cathy with Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. It sparked controversy surrounding its release, as the press material and trailer showed a movie that appeared very different from the original novel.
The original Wuthering Heights novel is often misrepresented as a romance novel when it is anything but that. It mainly follows the character of Heathcliff, the adopted sister to Cathy. The two grow up in the Wuthering Heights house and “fall in love,” though their relationship is more obsessive and controlling. For a few different reasons, Cathy and Heathcliff don’t get married as adults, instead Cathy moves to Thrushcross Grange after marrying Edgar Linton. Heathcliff later marries their daughter Isabella Linton. Through manipulation and his connection with Isabella, Heathcliff acquires enough wealth to take over both estates, after ruthlessly tormenting his adopted family, Cathy, and the next generation of children. Heathcliff does all of this out of “love” for Cathy, though it is much more indicative of his controlling, obsessive, brooding nature.
Many film adaptations of Wuthering Heights tend to forget Heathcliff’s later actions, as his heinous activity ramps up after Cathy dies halfway through the book. They prefer to instead focus on the first half of the novel, and change the narrative to portray a solid romance between the two. The 2026 adaptation is no exception, with director Emerald Fennell saying that this movie is “what she thought Wuthering Heights was about when she read it at 14 years old.” The movie also deviates from the novel in that it is rated R, as it includes sexually suggestive scenes.
One of the biggest reasons the 2026 movie has caused discourse online surrounds the casting of Heathcliff. In the original novel, he is a coloured man of unspecified origin. This has a big impact in the book, as it highlights class differences and becomes a source of rage for Heathcliff. In the movie, along with most other adaptations, white actors are cast to play Heathcliff, completely erasing this key part of his character’s story. While a race swap like this can be dismissed in older adaptations as being supported by racism, in 2026 when race swaps for characters are becoming increasingly common, it begs the question as to what the intention behind the decision is, and how it changes the narrative as a whole.
Overall, fans of the novel are upset about how it was portrayed on screen. Besides Heathcliff’s race swap, a lot of other characters’ personalities were changed, along with other details from the novel. Fans feel like the adaptation was not faithful to the original source material, which has also been a concern with other adaptations like the Disney live action remakes. Some people even suggested that Emerald Fennell should’ve given the characters and movie a different name, creating a brand new story, rather than inaccurately represent the original novel.
