“Looked exactly like the illustration of Heathcliff”: ‘Wuthering Heights’ director addresses Jacob Elordi casting backlash over race change

Wuthering Heights director Emerald Fennell has defended the decision to cast Jacob Elordi in the film. She said that the according to her, the actor represented the character of Heathcliff perfectly.

Wuthering Heights is an adaptation of the 1847 Emily Brontë novel of the same name. It stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the lead roles, as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively.

However, there has been controversy surrounding Elordi's casting in recent weeks. Fans suggest that in the original book, the character is described as someone with dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. The Saltburn actor doesn't match that description.

At the Brontë Women’s Writing Festival on Friday, September 27, Fennell spoke about her upcoming film, including Elordi's casting. She shared that she met him on the sets of Saltburn and said (h/t Variety):

“[Elordi] looked exactly like the illustration of Heathcliff on the first book that I read. And it was so awful because I so wanted to scream. Not the professional thing to do, obviously.”

“I had been thinking about making ['Wuthering Heights'], and it seemed to me he had the thing… he’s a very surprising actor,” she added.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Indie Wire, published on April 17, Elordi had said that he was planning to take a break from acting. However, he got a text from Fennell, who convinced him to join the cast of the film.

“I was really lucky. I was going to take a break for a while, and then Emerald just very simply texted me, and you can’t run from that text,” he said.

The trailer for Wuthering Heights was released on September 3 this year.

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Emerald Fennell on working with Margot Robbie on Wuthering Heights

Margot Robbie, Rosamund Pike and Emerald Fennell at Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' 14th Annual Governors Awards - (Image Source: Getty)

During the aforementioned panel, Fennell also heaped praise on Margot Robbie, who will play the role of Catherine Earnshaw in the adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel. She said:

“[Margot is] not like anyone I’ve ever met — ever — and I think that’s what I felt like with Cathy.”

She added that Robbie is “so beautiful and interesting and surprising, and she is the type of person who, like Cathy, could get away with anything.”

She further explained:

“I think honestly she could commit a killing spree and nobody would mind. And that is who Cathy is to me. Cathy is somebody who just pushes to see how far she can go. So it needed somebody like Margot, who’s a star, not just an incredible actress — which she is — but somebody who has a power, an otherworldly power, a Godlike power, that means people lose their minds.”

Emerald Fennell had also directed Saltburn, which had Margot Robbie as one of the executive producers, while Jacob Elordi played Felix Catton. In an interview with Variety, published in January 2024, Robbie had lauded Fennell's direction. The Barbie actor and producer said that Fennell is "so masterful at tone and plot" and immerses people in the film.

Wuthering Heights is set to release worldwide on February 13, 2026.

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