Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi to Star in ‘Wuthering Heights’ Adaptation

This is a reunion for the three, as Robbie produced Fennell’s two previous movies and Elordi starred in the writer/director’s last release, ‘Saltburn’.

(Left) Margot Robbie arrives on the red carpet at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Trae Patton/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Right) Jacob Elordi on HBO's 'Euphoria.' Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO.

Preview:

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are starring in the new ‘Wuthering Heights’.
Emerald Fennell is adapting and directing the movie.
It’ll be based on Emily Brontë’s novel.

Back in July, we learned that Oscar-winning writer/director Emerald Fennell had set her sights on her latest project, a new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel ‘Wuthering Heights.’

There was no casting attached at the time, but now Deadline reports that the new movie will mark a dual reunion for Fennell, as she’s landed Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi for the lead roles.

Robbie and Fennell’s collaboration stretches back to the director’s film debut, 2020’s ‘Promising Young Woman,’ in which Robbie was originally going to star, but stepped aside because she felt Carey Mulligan would be a better choice. That was, as it happens, the right move, with Mulligan earning an Oscar nomination.

Still, Robbie and her LuckyChap company produced the movie, and reunited with Fennell for her next film, ‘Saltburn’ (which starred Elordi as wealthy scion Felix Catton). Fennell also worked with Robbie by appearing in ‘Barbie’.

What’s the story of ‘Wuthering Heights’?

1939's 'Wuthering Heights'. Photo: United Artists.

Brontë’s book, published in 1847 under her pseudonym Ellis Bell, follows Heathcliff (Elordi), an orphan-turned-foster-son who falls in love with the daughter of the family who owns the estate on which he now lives, Wuthering Heights.

After running away, Heathcliff rises up through the ranks of the gentry and exacts revenge on the families — the Earnshaws and the Lintons — who kept him from his true love, Catherine Earnshaw (Robbie).

What previous adaptations of ‘Wuthering Heights’ have there been?

(L to R) Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche in 1992's 'Wuthering Heights'. Photo: United Artists.

There have been a variety of adaptations of the book in the past, including William Wyler’s 1939 film starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon; Robert Fuest’s 1970 movie with Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall; Peter Kosminsky’s 1992 film led by Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche and Andrea Arnold’s 2012 effort, starring James Howson and Kaya Scodelario.

On the small screen, 2009 saw a TV miniseries with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley in the lead roles, and series in 1978 and 1998.

And not forgetting Kate Bush’s 1978 song “Wuthering Heights”.

Wuthering Heights

"A passion. An obsession. A love that destroyed everyone it touched."

PG1 hr 45 minOct 16th, 1992

Watch Wuthering Heights Online

What’s next for Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi?

Margot Robbie at The 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.Credit/Provider: Nick Agro ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Robbie will be seen starring opposite Colin Farrell in Kogonada’s 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey', hitting theaters next May.

Upcoming for Elordi is Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ and a TV series called ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North,’ directed by Justin Kurzel.

When will Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ be seen on screens?

The new ‘Wuthering Heights’ is in pre-production and will shoot next year in the UK.

While it has MRC agreeing to stump up the money to produce the film, it has yet to lock down a studio home. Though we can imagine many companies will be happy to snatch this one up given the pedigree of Fennell and Robbie in particular.

Emerald Fennell poses backstage with the Oscar® for Original Screenplay during the live ABC Telecast of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 25, 2021. Credit/Provider: Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.