Oscar winner Emerald Fennell has set her next film after the steamy and crazy Saltburn, and it’s a big one. The writer-director behind Promising Young Woman will next tackle the towering novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, often considered one of the greatest novels ever put to paper. Fennell announced the title on X (formerly Twitter) with a hauntingly beautiful poster with the lines “Be with me Always,” “Take any form,” and “Drive me mad,” teasing what’s to come in the adaptation. At this time, no other information has been shared about who will appear or when production could potentially get underway.
Wuthering Heights follows the generations-deep intertwining relationships between the Earnshaws and the Lintons, two families of landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors. A young orphan named Heathcliff is adopted into the Earnshaw fold and sparks a friendship with his benefactor’s daughter Catherine which twists into a love marred by abuse, desperation, and the constraints of social class. It further spirals into turbulence as the two grow older, forming a dark tale of heartbreak and cruelty that lingers even after they’re gone and far beyond their own connection. Published by Brontë under the pen name Ellis Bell, it would be the only novel ever released by the author, yet its influence is still felt to this day.
Fennell will be far from the first to try to bring the Gothic masterpiece to life. Wuthering Heights has been adapted for the silver screen a staggering 13 times in different languages and with various spins on the original story presented in Brontë‘s original novel. That’s also not counting the many television versions, audio adaptations, and theatrical performances that have taken inspiration from the work. Despite the many attempts to capture the full magnitude of the original, the novel has gotten a reputation for being borderline unfilmable in the same vein as other books like Cormac McCarthy‘s Blood Meridian or Stephen King‘s The Long Walk. The most recent time the novel reached theaters came in 2011 with a version starring The Gentlemen‘s Kaya Scodelario as Catherine and James Howson as Heathcliff.
Fennell Is a Perfect Fit for ‘Wuthering Heights’
Tackling such a titanic novel will be no easy feat, but Fennell may be one of the directors best equipped for such a task. Her own recent Gothic hit, Saltburn, pulled zero punches when displaying the English upper class and their opulent estates, creating a flawed, yet fantastic piece with a freaky Barry Keoghan and shocking individual moments that showcase Oliver’s obsession. The film follows Oliver and his infatuation with his popular classmate Felix (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to come to his family’s elegant home. Manipulation abounds as the family begins to accept him as one of their own and experience a truly unforgettable summer together in the aristocratic high life. Brontë‘s novel would be a fitting next step that further builds on the filmmaker’s love for Gothic stories.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more information on Fennell‘s adaptation of Wuthering Heights as it comes out. In the meantime, her last film, Saltburn, can be streamed on Prime Video.
via Collider