Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the classic gothic romance “Wuthering Heights” is being brought to life on the big screen thanks to Emerald Fennell’s adaptation. The film is set to be released by Warner Bros. on February 13, 2026.
Emerald Fennell not only directed but also wrote and produced this project, which is based on the 1847 novel by Emily Bronte. The film will feature a star-studded cast including Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Alison Oliver, and Shazad Latif. The production is also supported by MRC and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap.
The film marks the second time MRC, LuckyChap, and Fennell have teamed up, following their successful collaboration on “Saltburn”. This is also the third project bringing together LuckyChap and Fennell, who previously worked together on “Promising Young Woman”.
VIP+
View this post on Instagram
The film sparked a fierce bidding war, with Netflix placing a whopping bid of $150 million. Despite this, the filmmakers behind “Wuthering Heights” opted for Warner Bros.’ $80 million offer, swayed by the pitch from Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy for a wide theatrical release coupled with a comprehensive marketing campaign.
Popular on Variety
In July, Fennell announced her plans to adapt “Wuthering Heights” as her third feature film. She took to social media with a surprise announcement that included a graphic bearing a line from the novel, “Be with me always – Take any form – Drive me mad.”
Fennell confessed to her obsession with the gothic genre in a January 2024 column for the Los Angeles Times, “I’ve always been obsessed with the gothic. 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. It’s a genre where comedy and horror, revulsion and desire, sex and death are forever entwined, where every exchange is heavy with the threat of violence, or sex or both.”
Credit: variety.com
