Margot Robbie & Emerald Fennell Snub $150 Million Netflix Offer For 'Wuthering Heights' For This One Reason
Contemporary classic adaptations provide us with so much nuance and detail that make the original story even more powerful. Audiences loved the way Greta Gerwig's Little Women brought all four March sisters to life, and Netflix's Anne with an E became so popular that when the show was canceled after season 3, 1.7 million fans signed a petition to revive the series.
And the newest movie based on a book is going to be one we think about forever — and not just because of its cast. Emerald Fennell (who you'll recognize from The Crown and her work as writer & director on Satburn) is adapting Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi just joined the cast!
The book, published in 1847, continues to grip readers, and it's become the blueprint for moody complexity — just like Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman, which won the Oscar for Best Screenplay thanks to its scathing look at sexual assault. Well, the Em's are coming together for this new adaptation. Here's everything we know about the new Wuthering Heights movie.
Is Wuthering Heights going to be in theaters?
Focus Features
It appears director Emerald Fennell and producer Margot Robbie are pushing for a theatrical release, which is why they've reportedly turned down a Netflix offer of $150 million so far, according to a recent edition of Puck's newsletter "What I'm Hearing."
Despite the fact Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said theatrical releases are "just not our business," and the company has stuck to at-home streaming instead, they did break that pattern for Knives Out: Glass Onion in 2022. According to the New York Times, the movie appeared in around 600 theaters the day before Thanksgiving, but left a week later ahead of its December 23 debut on the streamer.
Co-CEO Reed Hastings told The Hollywood Reporter that keeping the movie in theaters could have made Netflix more money, but later said they just wanted to "break through the noise" and get movie lovers excited for the film to come to Netflix.
All that to be said, Margot Robbie (whose Barbie made over $1 billion worldwide) and Emerald Fennell (whose Promising Young Woman nabbed her an Oscar win and two other nominations) know how to capture the imaginations of movie lovers everywhere. And it could definitely be in their favor to stick to a theatrical release. Stay tuned for official news on where you can watch Wuthering Heights!
Who's in the new Wuthering Heights movie?
Frazer Harrison/Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Wuthering Heights Cast
The Wuthering Heights movie will be led by Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, respectively. Margot will also produce with her production company LuckyChap, which worked behind the scenes on Emerald Fennell's Saltburn and Promising Young Woman.
While some fans were initially excited about the casting, others were concerned about the fact that in the book, Heathcliff is described as "dark skinned." He also tells Nelly that, "I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed, and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as he will be!" Um, it looks like Jacob Elordi definitely has fair skin to me.
"Heathcliff is described as a dark-skinned brown man in the book and a major plot point is that he was subjected to racist abuse by his adopted family," one tweet (which is up to 8 million views) says. "But yeah sure Jacob Elordi is perfect!"
Another says, "Film studios will say 'We are committed to diverse casting' and then cast Jacob Elordi to play Heathcliff, one of the more famous people of color in literature, whose race is crucial to both his character and the story."
Check back here to see who will play characters like Edgar Linton, Nelly Dean, Isabella Linton, and Lockwood.
When is Wuthering Heights coming out?
Warner Bros. Pictures
Wuthering Heights Release Date
We don't have an official release date for Wuthering Heights yet, but stay tuned to see more!
What is Wuthering Heights about?
Amazon
Wuthering Heights Plot
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights follows the Earnshaws and the Lintons, who are living in the Yorkshire Moors in the 1880s. Their lives change forever when the Earnshaws take in Heathcliff. Like any good dramatic novel, passion lies beneath proper connections, marriages, and societal expectations — and despite Catherine and Heathcliffe's feelings for each other, they have to choose between security and love.
Sony Pictures Releasing
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This post has been updated.
