Wuthering Heights in 2026
When I heard that Wuthering Heights was going to be made into a film again, I was excited to say the least. For one, it’s one of the most beloved classics in English literature, adored by readers worldwide for almost two centuries. And it happens to be one of my favorite novels ever since I picked it up in my teenage years. But the biggest reason was that I had researched over ten different adaptations of Wuthering Heights for my old blog post back in 2021:
I couldn’t wait to see how Heathcliff was going to be portrayed in 2026!
Premonition…After Premonition
After excitedly searching online for the latest news, I learned that the film was going to be written and directed by Emerald Fennell. She had written and directed Promising Young Woman (2020) and Saltburn (2023). I didn’t watch the two, but I had heard great things about Promising Young Woman: about Carey Mulligan’s acting and the film winning Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards.
I also found out that the latest adaptation of Wuthering Heights would star Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively. It’s not that I have anything against the actors or their acting but I couldn’t help being disappointed. I had hoped to finally see Catherine and Heathcliff (especially Heathcliff) played by actors who closely resembled the descriptions written by Emily Brontë. But as if blatantly laughing at such wish, even the actors playing Edgar Linton and Nelly Dean didn’t resemble the characters – not even remotely!
Here’s a brief overview of the cast:
But I still remained hopeful. Though there had been over 10 different Wuthering Heights starring Caucasian Heathcliffs and though I had hoped to see an actual “dark-skinned gypsy” Heathcliff on the screen as written by Brontë herself, the latest adaptation might still be good. And though the brown-haired Catherine was now blonde, the blonde Edgar was now dark-haired, and the English Nelly was now Vietnamese American, I thought that these actors and actresses might bring about refreshing new takes on the characters.
Alas, when I watched the official trailer and teaser clips, I wasn’t so hopeful anymore.
It wasn’t the actors or their acting that were foreboding. It was the direction of the film itself: from the trailers and teasers, it seemed as if the classic had been reimagined into some flashy, trashy romance.
Yet, I decided to watch Wuthering Heights to not judge a movie by its trailer.
Valentine’s Day Viewing in Seoul
Wuthering Heights made its screen debut this January at the TCL Chinese Theatre but was released in theaters on February 13, 2026 both in the U.S. and U.K. I think the release date was purposely set right before Valentine’s Day, since Fennell’s movie is being marketed as a tragic romance.
I happened to be in Seoul, South Korea, where the movie premiered on February 11. To participate in Valentine’s Day events the Korean theaters were hosting with Warner Bros., I decided to watch the film in the evening on Valentine’s Day.
There was this photo setup for the release of Wuthering Heights, modeled after the Lintons’ estate, i.e. Thrushcross Grange:
…Where free prizes were being given out!
Plus I got these goods given out only to those who purchased tickets for the evening of Valentine’s Day:
I have to say, theaters in Seoul host such fun events and offer merchandise not offered in the States! (From what I hear, theaters in Tokyo also offer fun movie events and merch.) I hope AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas start offering these kind of events, too.
Now here’s an honest review of Wuthering Heights…
🥀Honest Review (Spoiler Alert!)
👎A Wuthering Heights That’s NOT Wuthering Heights
Okay, so my premonitions were right: the new adaptation was NOT good. To begin with, it wasn’t Wuthering Heights at all. Not only did the characters of Wuthering Heights (2026) physically not resemble those in the classic written by Emily Brontë, but the content of the film was also unrecognizable. The only things I could recognize were the basic names of the characters; neither the characters nor the plot could be called those of Wuthering Heights!
Here’s a list of the characters from the classic, with those that appear in the film in yellow:
- Mr. Lockwood
- Heathcliff
- Catherine Earnshaw
- Edgar Linton
- Ellen “Nelly” Dean
- Isabella Linton
- Hindley Earnshaw
- Hareton Earnshaw
- Cathernie “Cathy” Linton
- Linton Heathcliff
- Joseph
- Mr. Earnshaw
- Mrs. Earnshaw
- Mr. Linton
- Mrs. Linton
- Frances
- Mr. Green
- Zillah
- Mr. Kenneth
As you can see, over half of the characters in the novel don’t appear in the movie. I understand the minor characters not appearing, but for important characters like Hindley, Hareton, Catherine’s daughter Cathy, and Isabella’s son Linton, it’s inexcusable. They’re central to the plot, even if the plot is cut in half (I’ll explore this issue again later below.)
👎Characters Disassembled & Disfigured
Let me elaborate on just how unrecognizable the characters in the film were from those in the original novel:
- Edgar Linton – In the novel, Edgar falls in love with his neighbor Catherine and even after their marriage he is a gentle, loving husband. He is portrayed as a responsible father who tries to protect their daughter, Cathy (named after his late wife) from Heathcliff’s devilish design. But in the film, he is portrayed as someone who had liked Catherine only for her looks.
- Ellen “Nelly” Dean – Nelly is a witness who relays the story of the two households (Earnshaws and Lintons) to the narrator of the story, Mr. Lockwood. While she is a simple character who stands on the sidelines in the novel, Nelly in the film is depicted as someone more actively involved, feeling intense emotions like jealousy and spite. She plays a pivotal role in separating Cathy and Heathcliff, and hence, triggers their tragedy.
- Isabella Linton – From a well-brought-up lady, Isabella plummets into a girl who is quite literally mad. I could not believe my eyes when I watched her bark like a dog (I’m not joking!) as Heathcliff’s dog…
- Joseph – He’s a twisted old servant who acts pious in the novel. For some reason, he’s young in the movie.
- Zillah – She’s a servant at Wuthering Heights who nurses Isabella and Heathcliff’s son, Linton. For some reason, she appears as someone who has a fling with Joseph.
- Mr. Earnshaw – In the novel, he is the late father of Cathy and Hindley who, albeit not so responsible, loves Cathy and Heathcliff. But in the film, he’s transformed into a drunk alcoholic and does what Hindley does to Heathcliff.
As someone who has avidly read the novel multiple times, I have to say: the film has destroyed – nay, disassembled and disfigured – the characters as unrecognizable, especially when it comes to Isabella and Mr. Earnshaw. I think it’s ruining the brilliance of Brontë’s original work; it’s outright disrespectful to distort her characters like that, in my opinion. I wonder what Emily Brontë would think and say if she saw the film herself.
Also, I have a word to say about the physical discrepancies of the characters, too. The film’s casting director, Kharmel Cochrane, has stated: “But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”1
She says “it’s just a book.”
Just a book? We’re talking about classic literature here! The movie Wuthering Heights only exists because of the original novel, and people worldwide are heading to the theaters to watch the film because of the novel! Of course, you can’t cast exactly the way Emily Brontë imagined her characters. But isn’t following the descriptions written by the source material’s author the least you can do?
Of course, if you obtain permission from the author, that’s another story (i.e. Netflix’s Bridgerton series).
But Wuthering Heights (2026) can’t, and therefore didn’t, obtain permission. And with reckless abandon, the characters and plot carefully crafted by Brontë were disassembled, disfigured, and recreated, save for the names of the characters and places…
👎 “50 Shades of Heathcliff,” Indeed
Aside from these stellar YouTube comments above, there is one that I have to cite as it perfectly summarizes Wuthering Heights (2026):
In an interview with Fandango, Emerald Fennell said: “The thing for me is that you can’t adapt a book as dense and complicated and difficult as this book…I can’t say I’m making Wuthering Heights. It’s not possible. What I can say is I’m making a version of it. There’s a version that I remembered reading that isn’t quite real. And there’s a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened. And so [this film] is Wuthering Heights and it isn’t.”
She justifies the liberal changes she’s made to the source material by adding quotation marks around the title of the movie, stating that an adaptation of a novel should have quotation marks around it.2
But as Katie Behron, one of ELLE’s beauty editor, and Erica Gonzales, deputy digital editor, said, I think the movie shouldn’t even be called Wuthering Heights.3 In my opinion, the movie was more like a Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, as pointed out by the YouTube comment. With all the explicit sensuality, the movie should be titled 50 Shades of Heathcliff.
👍Visual Extravagance At Its Height
But to give credit to the latest “adaptation” of Wuthering Heights, the film was gorgeous visually. Despite being historically inaccurate, the set and costume designs were a delight to view and true feasts for the eyes:
👍Young Actors
Another thing the movie did well in my opinion was the depiction of Cathy and Heathcliff’s childhood. While Mr. Earnshaw was the alcoholic abuser and there was no Hindley, the film did a great job showing how Cathy and Heathcliff depended on each other to survive in a broken home. Charlotte Mellington and Owen Cooper were brilliant as young Catherine and Heathcliff. I think they physically resembled their older counterparts and so were believable as the younger versions of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. And their acting was excellent, drawing sympathy from the viewers and helping them understand why the two would share an unbreakable bond.
My Final Take
Just as Emerald Fennell described it herself, Wuthering Heights (2026) isn’t Wuthering Heights at all. It isn’t the Wuthering Heights written by Emily Brontë; it’s not the classic readers around the world have loved for nearly 200 years.
Wuthering Heights (2026) is Fennell’s version of Wuthering Heights: a visually stunning, highly sexualized version.
If I were to compare Brontë’s Wuthering Heights to a high-quality, dark chocolate cake made with the best ingredients, then Fennell’s Wuthering Heights would be a cake based on the same recipe but with lots of liberal revisions to the recipe, made with cheap ingredients and topped with extravagant icing and whipping cream. And since it has omitted more than half of the characters and plot of the novel, it would only be a piece of the cake.
I would not recommend the film to those who have read the novel and cherish Emily Brontë’s story of generational trauma, revenge, and recovery. But I do recommend it to….
- those who haven’t read the book,
- those who are fans of Margot Robbie and/or Jacob Elordi,
- and to those who like Fifty Shades of Grey.
That’s all I have to say about Wuthering Heights (2026)! 👋
P.S. Here’s my review of the classic by Emily Brontë, focusing on the greatest victim in the story – Edgar Linton:
