Emerald Fennell’s full-length trailer for her adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel frames the story as an expansive, contentious romance. Released alongside fresh music by Charli XCX, the trailer follows Catherine (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) from childhood into a turbulent adult love affair on the West Yorkshire moors. The footage emphasizes epic emotion and stylized visuals while reigniting debate over casting and tone. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2026.
Key Takeaways
- The first full-length trailer for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights debuted in November 2025 and frames the story as an “epic” love narrative featuring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
- Margot Robbie plays Catherine (Cathy) and Jacob Elordi plays Heathcliff; Shazad Latif appears as Edgar Linton, Cathy’s wealthy husband.
- The trailer intercuts childhood meetings with adult passion on the West Yorkshire moors and includes multiple rain-soaked romantic sequences underscored by Charli XCX’s new song “Chains of Love.”
- Fennell’s visual approach includes anachronistic costumes and vibrant color choices that depart from traditional period realism.
- Casting and tonal choices have provoked controversy: Kharmel Cochrane, the casting director, defended Robbie’s casting, while some commentators questioned Elordi’s suitability for Heathcliff’s historically understood background.
- Reports from an August test screening described mixed audience reactions and cited at least one shocking scene that some viewers called provocative.
- Fennell has publicly described the novel as personally formative, saying it “cracked” her open when she first read it at age 14 and acknowledging the difficulty of adapting a beloved text.
- The film’s release date is 14 February 2026, and a companion album featuring Charli XCX is due to arrive with the film in February 2026.
Background
Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights was first published in 1847 and remains one of English literature’s most discussed single novels. Its dark, volatile depiction of love, class and revenge has inspired numerous screen versions and scholarly debate about its themes and characters. Over the decades, directors have alternately emphasized gothic atmosphere, psychological torment, or romantic melodrama; Fennell’s project positions itself as a highly stylized, modern-tinged epic.
Emerald Fennell rose to prominence with Saltburn and Promising Young Woman, works noted for bold tonal choices and provocative imagery. That reputation preceded her Brontë adaptation, shaping expectations and skepticism from critics and some viewers. The new trailer crystallizes those expectations: it leans into Fennell’s appetite for color and shock while explicitly courting the idea that this is a grand, transgressive love story rather than a period-accurate recreation.
Main Event
The trailer opens by showing Cathy and Heathcliff meeting as children on the moors, then accelerates to their adult entanglement. Margot Robbie’s Cathy is shown torn between raw feeling and social aspiration; Shazad Latif’s Edgar is presented as the secure, wealthy alternative who preserves social position. Scenes pivot quickly between intimacy and violence, and Fennell uses contrasts of lavish interiors and bleak moorland to heighten emotional conflict.
Dialogue excerpts in the trailer underline class tensions: when Cathy asks Heathcliff what he would do if rich, Heathcliff replies with a brittle joke about cruelty and marriage, signaling his later alienation. The footage culminates in a defiant exchange—Heathcliff’s line to Cathy at the trailer’s close underscores the adaptation’s willingness to embrace melodrama and moral ruin.
Visually, the trailer mixes period elements with moments that feel intentionally anachronistic: bold color grading, modernized wardrobe choices and a contemporary pop-tinged score by Charli XCX. The musical collaboration and the promise of a concurrent album sharpen the film’s hybrid identity: both period drama and modern cultural product intended to provoke conversation beyond literary circles.
Analysis & Implications
Fennell’s approach transforms Wuthering Heights from a canonical Victorian tale into a cinematic event that foregrounds style as interpretation. That choice will likely split audiences: viewers open to reimagining classic texts may praise the film’s audacity and theatricality, while traditionalists may object to departures in tone, costume and casting. The stakes are higher for a text many readers consider personally meaningful, so the intensity of reaction is predictable.
Casting controversies—especially around Heathcliff’s racial and ethnic background—touch on broader cultural conversations about representation, historical interpretation and who has permission to inhabit canonical roles. Defenders argue that casting should serve the film’s vision; critics worry about erasure of historically marginalized identities if adaptations flatten complex backgrounds. Fennell and her casting director have responded directly to such debates, framing their choices as creative rather than dismissive of history.
Economically and commercially, positioning the film as a Valentine’s Day release and pairing it with a pop-oriented soundtrack suggests a bid for mainstream awards-season visibility and a wide box-office draw. If the film succeeds critically, it may reset expectations for literary adaptations, encouraging directors to pursue bolder reinterpretations; if it flops or is widely boycotted, studios may become risk-averse about similarly provocative reworkings.
Comparison & Data
| Item | Date |
|---|---|
| Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (novel) | 1847 |
| Notable early film adaptation (Laurence Olivier) | 1939 |
| Fennell’s trailer release (news reports) | November 2025 |
| Fennell film theatrical release | 14 February 2026 |
The table above places Fennell’s project within the long adaptation history of Brontë’s novel. While 1939’s studio-era adaptation emphasized classical gothic romance, Fennell’s version foregrounds modern sensibilities and deliberate provocation. The juxtaposition illustrates how filmmakers’ choices reflect broader cultural priorities in different eras.
Reactions & Quotes
Early public and industry reactions ranged from praise for ambition to sharp criticism about tone and explicit content. At least one test screening in August produced mixed responses and vivid descriptions of a scene that many found shocking; the reports fed online debate about the film’s limits.
“I’ve been obsessed. I’ve been driven mad by this book.”
Emerald Fennell (screenwriter/director)
Fennell used recent festival appearances to situate the adaptation as personal and fraught: she described the novel’s formative effect on her and the emotional risk of adapting such a beloved text. Her remarks framed the film as an act of devotion rather than provocation for its own sake.
“So kiss me, and let us both be damned.”
Heathcliff (dialogue in trailer)
The trailer’s final exchange—Heathcliff pleading for ruin—signals the film’s embrace of tragic, destructive passion and echoes familiar lines of Brontë’s dramatic language, repurposed for Fennell’s visual palette.
“Casting choices were made to serve the film’s vision and rigorous casting process.”
Kharmel Cochrane (casting director, paraphrased)
The casting director publicly defended selection decisions after critics questioned Robbie’s age for the role and Elordi’s fit for Heathcliff; defenders emphasize the actor-director collaboration that shaped the film’s interpretation.
Unconfirmed
- Precise details of the August test-screening scene and the exact audience composition remain publicly unverified and are based on anonymous attendee descriptions.
- Claims about production intent behind specific costume choices and the extent to which anachronisms were planned versus emergent in editing have not been confirmed by production notes.
- The final track list and full credits for the companion Charli XCX album have not been officially published at the time of reporting.
Bottom Line
Emerald Fennell’s trailer reframes Wuthering Heights as a deliberately modern, visually assertive epic that invites both admiration and ire. By pairing period drama with contemporary music, vivid color choices and contentious casting, the film stakes a claim as a cultural event designed to provoke conversation as much as to retell a classic.
How audiences and critics ultimately receive the film will hinge on whether viewers see Fennell’s choices as thoughtful interpretation or gratuitous provocation. With a 14 February 2026 release date and an accompanying soundtrack, the film is poised to be one of next year’s most discussed literary adaptations.