Wuthering Heights (2026 film)

Wuthering Heights
Teaser poster
Directed byEmerald Fennell
Screenplay byEmerald Fennell
Based onWuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLinus Sandgren
Music byAnthony Willis
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • February 11, 2026 (2026-02-11) (International)
  • February 13, 2026 (2026-02-13) (United States)
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million

Wuthering Heights (stylized with quotation marks) is a Gothic erotic psychological drama film produced, written, and directed by Emerald Fennell, loosely inspired by Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. The film stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively, alongside Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell in supporting roles. Wuthering Heights will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 13, 2026.

Cast

Production

Development and casting

Director and writer Emerald Fennell (left). Actress Margot Robbie also produced the film.

In July 2024, filmmaker Emerald Fennell announced that she would write and direct an adaptation of the 1847 novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.[1] In September 2024, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi were cast as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively, with Robbie also producing under her label LuckyChap Entertainment alongside financer MRC. Robbie previously produced Fennell's Promising Young Woman (2020) and Saltburn (2023), the latter of which starred Elordi.[2]

A bidding war in October led Netflix to bid $150 million for the distribution rights.[3] Warner Bros. Pictures, with whom LuckyChap has a first-look deal and made Barbie (2023), ultimately won the rights with a significantly lower offer of $80 million after granting Fennell and Robbie's wishes for the film to have a theatrical release and a significant marketing campaign.[4][5]

Elordi had been contemplating taking a hiatus from acting before Fennell offered him the lead role without having to audition.[6] The decision to cast a white actor as the racially ambiguous Heathcliff, described as resembling a "dark-skinned gipsy" or "Lascar" in the novel, sparked controversies.[7] In November 2024, Hong Chau, Alison Oliver (who starred in Saltburn), and Shazad Latif joined the cast.[8] In March 2025, Charlotte Mellington, Owen Cooper, and Vy Nguyen (all three making their film debuts) were announced as playing young Catherine, Heathcliff, and Nelly.[9] In September 2025, Fennell defended her decision to cast Elordi, stating that he "looked exactly like the illustration of Heathcliff on the first book that I read."[10]

Filming

Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom from late January to early April 2025, using 35mm VistaVision cameras. Filming occurred at Sky Studios Elstree, with location shooting in the Yorkshire Dales including the valleys of Arkengarthdale and Swaledale, the village of Low Row, and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.[11][12][13] Linus Sandgren was the cinematographer.[14]

Music

Main article: Wuthering Heights (album)

Anthony Willis will compose the score for the film with Charli XCX contributing an album of original songs.[15][16] The lead single, "House" featuring Welsh musician John Cale, was released on November 10, 2025,[17] alongside a music video directed by Mitch Ryan.[18] A second song, "Chains of Love," was released on November 13, coinciding with the film's theatrical trailer, which also featured the song.[16]

Release

Wuthering Heights is scheduled for release in the United States and the United Kingdom on February 13, 2026, on the eve of Valentine's Day.[19]

Marketing

The film's first trailer and poster, the latter of which paid homage to Gone with the Wind (1939), were released online on September 3, 2025, after promotional billboards appeared in multiple cities, including New York City, London, and Los Angeles.[20]

References

  1. ^ Mitchell, Harriet (13 July 2024). "Emerald Fennell reveals next movie following Saltburn success". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  2. ^ Kroll, Justin (23 September 2024). "Margot Robbie And Jacob Elordi To Star In Emerald Fennell's Adaptation Of Wuthering Heights From MRC And LuckyChap". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  3. ^ Belloni, Matthew (11 October 2024). "What I'm Hearing: A New Oscars Plan, Netflix's Wuthering Bid & Bela's Book". Puck. Archived from the original on 12 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  4. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr (24 October 2024). "Warner Bros' Global Theatrical Commitment Wins Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights; Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi Star In MRC Package With LuckyChap Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  5. ^ Belloni, Matthew (24 October 2024). "What I'm Hearing: Kamala Fears, A Murdoch Whiff & A Star Wars Exile". Puck. Archived from the original on 27 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  6. ^ Perella, Vincent (17 April 2025). "Jacob Elordi on Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Gift and Going Through 'a Layer of Hell' for 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North'". IndieWire. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  7. ^ McTaggart, India (24 September 2024). "Wuthering Heights film stirs controversy after white actor chosen to play Heathcliff". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  8. ^ Grobar, Matt (20 November 2024). "Hong Chau, Alison Oliver & Shazad Latif Join Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights At Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  9. ^ Ritman, Alex (7 March 2025). "Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights Find Its Young Heathcliff and Cathy in Adolescence Breakout Owen Cooper and Matilda Stage Star Charlotte Mellington (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  10. ^ Tinoco, Armando (29 September 2025). "Emerald Fennell On 'Wuthering Heights' Being "Primal" And "Sexual", Addresses Criticism For Casting Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  11. ^ Calnan, Elle (28 January 2025). "Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi starts filming in the UK". Screen International. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  12. ^ Coyle, Hayley (5 April 2025). "Dales welcomes Margot Robbie for movie shoot". BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  13. ^ Desowitz, Bill (21 April 2025). "'The Brutalist' Revives Interest in VistaVision, a Format with an Aesthetic All Its Own, at TCM Festival". Indiewire. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Wuthering Heights". Company 3. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  15. ^ "Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' to Feature Original Songs by Charli XCX and Score by Anthony Willis". Film Music Reporter. 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  16. ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (13 November 2025). "Charli XCX Announces New Album Wuthering Heights, Shares New Song "Chains of Love"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  17. ^ Ragusa, Paolo (10 November 2025). "Charli XCX Goes Goth Rock in New Song "House" Featuring John Cale: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  18. ^ XCX, Charli (10 November 2025). Charli xcx - House featuring John Cale (Official Video) (Video). YouTube.
  19. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (13 December 2024). "Wuthering Heights With Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi To Make Audiences Swoon On Valentine's Day Weekend 2026". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  20. ^ Stevens, Abigail (3 September 2025). "First Teasers For Margot Robbie's Wuthering Heights Revealed". ScreenRant. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.