Summary
A new adaptation ofWuthering Heightsis on the way from director Fennell. The iconic 1847 gothic romance novel by Emily Brontë follows the torrid romance that takes place between iconic characters Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in the Yorkshire moors. Fennell is an actor and director who most recently helmed thetwisted thrillerSaltburn,in addition to playing a small role as Midge in the smash hit comedyBarbie.Saltburnpresented a modernized vision of the kind of classic gothic romance of which the Brontë work is a prime example.
On her official Twitter account,Emerald Fennellannounced that she will be helming a new adaptation ofWuthering Heights. Check out her post below:
The announcement was made via an image ofwhat appears to be the title card of the upcoming movie,which will be her followup toSaltburnandPromising Young Woman(for which she won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar). Alongside the inscriptions “Be with me always, Take any form, Drive me mad” and “A Film by Emerald Fennell” is an illustrated image of two interlocked skeletons framing the title.
Wuthering Heights' Onscreen History Explained
Dozens Of Wuthering Heights Adaptations Have Hit The Big And Small Screens
Because the Brontë novel still looms large over classic literature, it has been adapted numerous times to both the big and small screens. This includes countless television adaptations, with CBS and the BBC producing several over the years, and more than a dozenWuthering Heightsmovies. The most notable cinematic adaptation would likely be the1939 William Wyler movie of the same name starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning one for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White).
However, the 1939 adaptation wasn’t the first time that the story was adapted to the screen, as it had been previously made into a 1920 silent that is now thought to be lost. Between 1920 and the most recent adaptation, a 2011 movie that was helmed by Andrea Arnold,more than a dozen adaptations were made featuring a variety of starsincluding Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kaya Scodelario, Indian actor Dilip Kumar (on three separate occasions), andJames Bond actor Timothy Dalton. Below, see a breakdown of every previous film adaptation of the novel, their directors, and their lead actors:
Arashi ga oka(1988)
Kaya Scodelario
James Howson
Although many different adaptations ofWuthering Heightshave been made, Emerald Fennell’s work onSaltburnshows that she may have a vision that could justify making a new version of the story. For one thing, it seems that she may intend to bring her boldly modern sensibility to the project. The position of the skeletons in the title card could be perceived as implying either a sexual act, a violent act, or a combination of the two, recalling some of the most shocking moments of bothSaltburnandPromising Young Woman.
