Margot Robbie champions Jacob Elordi’s portrayal of Heathcliff, defending Emerald Fennell‘s upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation as a “big epic romance” aimed at a contemporary audience.
Robbie, a producer on the film alongside Tom Ackerley and their production company LuckyChap Entertainment-known for I, Tonya, Birds of Prey, My Old ass, and Barbie-addressed expectations surrounding the erotic content of the adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, stating audiences may be “surprised” by its emphasis on romance. The film aims to deliver a visceral experience akin to Titanic for a new generation, according to Fennell, who reportedly told Robbie she wanted viewers to feel as compelled to return as she did with Romeo & Juliet.
Fennell’s vision for Wuthering heights is deeply personal, as she revealed at the Brontë Women’s Writng festival last year: “I’ve been obsessed. I’ve been driven mad by this book. I know that if somebody else made it, I’d be furious. It’s very personal material for everyone. It’s very illicit. The way we relate to the characters is very private.” Robbie echoed this sentiment, noting the film’s focus on nuanced intimacy-like a scene of Elordi’s Heathcliff sheltering Cathy from the rain, which “almost made me weak at the knees”-and its intention to appeal specifically to women in their 30s, a demographic often overlooked in period dramas.
Robbie emphasized the provocative nature of the source material, describing the novel as containing “an enormous amount of sado-masochism” and acknowledging that adapting it is indeed “an act of extreme masochism.” She and Fennell collaborated to define what constitutes genuine attraction, moving beyond conventional depictions of sexiness. Fennell’s ambition, Robbie shared, is to create “this generation’s Titanic.”
