The first full-length trailer for Emerald Fennell's highly anticipated adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights has finally been released, offering audiences a deeper look into what the Oscar-winning director is calling 'the greatest love story of all time'.
A Torturous Epic Love Story
Following the initial teaser, this new preview sketches out the epic, star-crossed romance between Catherine, played by Margot Robbie, and Heathcliff, portrayed by Jacob Elordi. The trailer depicts their first meeting as children on the West Yorkshire moors, before charting their evolution into a torturous adult love affair.
In a key exchange, Robbie's Cathy asks Elordi's Heathcliff, "What would you do, Heathcliff, if you were rich?" to which he stoically replies, "I suppose I'd do what all rich men do. Live in a big house, be cruel to my servants, take a wife." Faithful to Brontë's only completed novel, the narrative sees Cathy marry the wealthy Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif) to secure her social standing, prompting a heartbroken Heathcliff to flee and swear vengeance.
Controversy and Creative Vision
The film, set for a Valentine's Day 2026 release, has been controversial from the start. Fennell, the writer-director behind Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, is known for her mordant, envelope-pushing style. Her erotically charged take on the classic has already sparked debate.
Casting choices were questioned, with some suggesting Robbie was too old for the role of a young maiden, while others debated Elordi's suitability as Heathcliff, a character often perceived as having a Romany background and darker skin. The film's casting director, Kharmel Cochrane, publicly defended the selections.
Reports from an August test screening described mixed reactions, with one attendee labelling the film "aggressively provocative and tonally abrasive," citing a particularly graphic scene involving a public hanging.
Fennell's Personal Obsession
Emerald Fennell addressed the criticism head-on at the Brontë Women's Writing festival in September. She revealed that the novel "cracked me open" when she first read it at 14 and that she has been "driven mad by this book" ever since.
"I know that if somebody else made it, I'd be furious. It's very personal material for everyone," Fennell stated. She defended her intense interpretation, noting, "There's an enormous amount of sado-masochism in this book. There's a reason people were deeply shocked by it." She described making the film as an "act of extreme masochism."
The trailer showcases Fennell's signature colourful flourishes and some anachronistic fashion choices. The emotional intensity is amplified by a powerful new soundtrack from Charli xcx, featuring the song "Chains of Love," which accompanies several clips of the lovers kissing and crying in the rain. A full album by the artist is set to be released alongside the film.
