“Wuthering Heights” to Hit Theaters on Valentine’s Day

Allison Clark

Staff Writer

For some, Valentine’s Day 2026 will be filled with sickeningly sweet Hallmark cards and boxes of heart-shaped chocolates. For others, it’ll be filled with movie theater popcorn and a healthy dose of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Coming to theaters near you, director Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” adaptation is set to hit the big screen in a few months, just in time for the most romantic holiday of the year. Fennell is the writer and director of the popular films “Saltburn” and “Promising Young Woman”, both of which were provocative and intriguing in their own right.

“Wuthering Heights” is originally a novel written by Emily Brontë in 1847. The story was her claim to fame as readers became captivated by Heathcliff and Catherine’s horrific and tumultuous relationship. Brontë created a world full of Gothic haunting and vengeful plotting, both themes that have seemingly made their way into Fennell’s adaptation, among other subjects.

A point of controversy has been the over-sexualization of Heathcliff and Catherine as seen in the trailer. Forbes breaks down some of the debate, noting that critics are concerned that the seemingly sexual nature of the film will take away from some of the more serious themes woven throughout the novel, violence and racism, for example.

Additionally, Fennell’s casting choices have been bashed because she has chosen to deviate from the original characterization presented in the novel. For one, she has decided to age up Catherine, who is depicted as a teenager in the book. Critics and fans have also pointed out that Heathcliff is described as a person of color, while Fennell chose to cast Elordi, a white man, to play the character. Some have accused Fennell of whitewashing and are upset she didn’t choose to represent the characters as they were written.

Some have questioned Fennell’s choice to place the title in quotation marks, leading some to wonder if the film will truly follow the plot of the novel or if it will include new plot lines as well. While many fans have theorized what could be happening with Heathcliff and Catherine, one of the most intriguing ideas circulating in Reddit threads and comment sections is that Robbie’s character is reading “Wuthering Heights” and inserting herself into the narrative. This hypothesis could explain both the age discrepancy and the plot points that don’t make sense.

While this theory is most likely just that —a theory —we won’t know much more until the next trailer arrives and the movie hits the silver screen. Realistically, how much can we really gather from a one-minute and eight-second-long trailer anyway? What is certain is that some fans aren’t too happy with what they’ve seen so far and are interested to know how the release goes. I, for one, think I’ll start by diving into Brontë’s original text to uncover the story from the beginning before seeing the film. It’s like they always say: sometimes the book is better than the movie!