First poster of Emerald Fennell’s upcoming ‘Wuthering Heights’
| Photo Credit: X/ @emeraldfennell
Emerald Fennell, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind the recent hit Saltburn, is set to bring her vision to a film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
Fennell teased the project on social media, sharing a graphic featuring a line from the novel: “Be with me always – Take any form – Drive me mad.” Insiders have confirmed that Fennell will collaborate once again with MRC, the studio behind Saltburn.
Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, has seen numerous adaptations over the years. The story of love and revenge between two families in the moorlands of northern England has captivated audiences through various interpretations.
Notable adaptations include William Wyler’s 1939 film starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and Robert Fuest’s 1970 version featuring Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall. In 1992, Peter Kosminsky directed a rendition with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. Television adaptations have also been popular, with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley starring in a 2009 TV movie, and James Howson and Kaya Scodelario leading a 2011 version.
Fennell’s gothic sensibilities, showcased in Saltburn and her other works, make her a fitting choice for this project. Saltburn, which stars Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan, is noted for its heavy gothic influence. In a January 2024 column for the Los Angeles Times, Fennell expressed her long-standing fascination with the gothic genre. “Whether it was Edward Gorey’s children who are variously choked by peaches, sucked dry by leeches or smothered by rugs; Du Maurier’s imperiled heroines or the disturbing erotic power of Angela Carter’s fairy tales, the gothic world has always had me in its grip,” she wrote.
Fennell’s previous works include the 2020 thriller Promising Young Woman, which received five Oscar nominations, and her role as head writer and executive producer for Season 2 of Killing Eve.
