‘Whitewashed’: A new ‘Wuthering Heights’ movie casts Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in lead roles, sparking backlash

Wuthering Heights has lived many lives. The Emily Brontë romantic gothic tragedy from 1847 has been turned into several TV adaptations, stage presentations, semaphore versions, and films, most notably the 1939 version starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon and directed by William Wyler.

Wuthering Heights adaptation announced

Well, Heights is going Hollywood once again, this time with a film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi directed by Lady Saltburn herself, Emerald Fennell. As you might imagine from the casting news, Robbie will be starring as Catherine Earnshaw, and Elordi will play…Heathcliff.

Now, if you’ve read the novel, you may remember that some descriptions of our guy Heathcliff include: "dark-skinned gypsy," "a little Lascar (Indian sailor),” skin "as dark almost as if it came from the devil," and with parents described as “father was Emperor of China, and your mother an Indian queen.” 

Jacob Elordi, well, doesn’t quite hit the mark there. It’s nothing new for the character in adaptations, however, as Heathcliff has only been played by a non-white actor once (for a 2011 adaptation).

That being said, Heathcliff’s race is never explicitly stated in the novel, but the debate on the topic has been going on for literally centuries now. In fact, some see Heathcliff’s race as deliberately ambiguous on Brontë’s part. 

Social media reacts to the casting choices

Either way, the Internet has some thoughts, feelings, and emotions on this casting and the film as a whole. 

The filming for Huthering Whites—oh my goodness, I’m so very sorry—Wuthering Heights begins in the UK in early 2025.

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