Emerald Fennell has doubled down on her decision to cast Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in her film adaptation of “Wuthering Heights,” despite receiving pushback from fans over the decision.
The Oscar winner shared insight into her casting choice while speaking at the Brontë Women’s Writing Festival on Friday, where she acknowledged the “huge responsibility” she felt while adapting Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel to the big screen.
She added, “It’s very personal material for everyone.”
As Fennell told the crowd at the festival — which took place in Brontë’s hometown in West Yorkshire — she had been “obsessed” with the book in her teens, and that one past edition of the novel inspired her casting of Elordi.
Namely, Fennell revealed she asked the “Euphoria” star to play the brooding Heathcliff on the set of “Saltburn,” as he “looked exactly like the illustration of Heathcliff on the first book that I read.”
She added, per BBC, “I had been thinking about making it [“Wuthering Heights”], and it seemed to me he had the thing … he’s a very surprising actor.”
However, fans of Brontë’s novel didn’t necessarily agree, given Heathcliff is notably described as dark-skinned in the novel. And so, the casting of white Elordi sparked outcry online, with some accusing the new iteration of whitewashing Heathcliff.
There was additional frustration from fans over the casting of Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw, the love interest of Heathcliff and a teenager in the book. Since Robbie is 35 years old, many felt the actress was too old for the role — however, Fennell made it clear she disagreed with this belief.
Per Fennell, Robbie was “not like anyone [she’s] ever met,” which was exactly what she needed for the role of Cathy.
As she continued, Fennell praised Robbie’s beauty, joking that the actress “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,” she continued. “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.”
“Wuthering Heights” arrives in theaters nationwide on Feb. 13, and internationally staring on Feb. 11.
