Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ remake already has English lit fans in full revolt

Actress and filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is already facing intense backlash from English literature fans, who say the production team is mishandling the iconic novel. The outrage, which began with casting and costume controversies, exploded after the film’s casting director Kharmel Cochrane made a series of dismissive comments, calling the novel “just a book” and positing “you don’t need to be accurate” at a recent film festival appearance.

On April 27, 2025, entertainment news network @DiscussingFilm posted promotional images from Wuthering Heights, along with a summary of an article published by Deadline that included quotations from Cochrane.

The viral post has over 3.1M views, 7.9K likes, 3.9K reshares, 1.5K saves, and 266 comments, many of which criticized the production and the choices made by the team so far.

‘It’s just a book’ the only book that Emily Brontë ever published before she died, and under a male pen name, put some fucking respect on her name. https://t.co/S9DhWZpFKp

— winter🏹 MOLLY DAY!! (@winterduck04) April 28, 2025

Casting director Kharmel Cochrane’s “it’s just a book” comments prompt viral backlash

“‘It’s just a book’ the only book that Emily Brontë ever published before she died, and under a male pen name, put some f*cking respect on her name,” wrote X user @winterduck04 in the caption of their post, resharing the @DiscussingFilm snippet. It seemed to resonate with over 21K X users who also liked the post.

“And also saying ‘English lit fans aren’t going to be happy’ then don’t… do it??? Seeing as how you are adapting… English… literature?” added X user @tiwyslut in the comments, referencing another of Cochrane’s quotes.

“’It’s just a book’ and then a sentence later ‘it’s all art’ like which is it?” X user @acediaaah posed.

X user @Caro_LBF made the point that “If it was nothing special, ‘just a book’ they wouldn’t be making it into movies. And this is great way to alienate your core audience who has read the book…”

“‘Not based in real life…’? Um. Sure it’s fiction, but it’s not science fiction…” they added. “What an odd thing to say.”

Who is Emerald Fennell?

​Emerald Fennell has done it all. The English actress is also a filmmaker and writer, but film fans are buzzing about her role as director for the upcoming production of Wuthering Heights. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director Promising Young Woman, though her cult classic Saltburn seemed to solidify her place in Hollywood as an irreverent and unconventional creative.

Fennell announced the undertaking back in July 2024, and in September 2024, the lead roles were announced: Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi would play the iconic leads of Cathy and Heathcliff. That’s when the curiosity stopped and the backlash began, over issues such as age gaps, skin color, and more.

X user @madeline_cct pointed out that Heathcliff (played by Jacob Elordi) should be anything but a white man, based on Brontë’s original description: “Heathcliff was ‘as dark almost as if it came from the devil’; ‘a dark skinned gipsy; as a child, he wishes he’d had ‘light hair and a fair skin’, aware of his radicalisation. The film industry: *let us cast yet another white actor*.”

Leaked images from the film sent English literature fans and historic fashion scholars into a frenzy, criticizing everything from bridal gown inaccuracies to the fact that Cathy (played by Margot Robbie) has blond hair in the film, but brown hair in the book.

“Begging people in historical movies and shows to realize white wedding dresses where made the norm in the VICTORIAN ERA,” wrote X user @neybitxh on March 23, 2025, resharing images of Margot Robbie wearing a white wedding dress. “Wuthering heights is set in the Georgian Era no one was wearing white dresses for a wedding.”

“We are about to witness january 6 for english majors,” added X user @aherman2006, resharing the same post from @FilmCrave.

Aside from the occasional set shots, the release of the film’s logo and a promo image announcing the date of the film’s intended release (Valentine’s Day, 2026), fans have been left in the dark in terms of actual artistic direction. 

Cochrane’s recent remarks from her appearance at Scotland’s Sands Film Festival (which opened April 26, 2025) have opened a new can of worms, including admitting that “‘there’s definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy,’” and that the set design is “shocking” according to reporting from Deadline.

“You really don’t need to be accurate,” Cochrane added. “It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”

Fans accuse Wutherings Heights remake of missing the entire point

Many interpreted Cochrane’s description of her casting choices and the film’s overall direction as careless and insensitive, not only to the classic story but to Brontë’s legacy as a female author as well.

@winterduck04 criticized another Cochrane quote in a separate post. “‘But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book.’ IS THE MOVIE NOT ABOUT THE BOOK??? IS THE BOOK NOT THE WHOLE POINT???”

“If you wanted to create something so different, you shouldve just written an original script,” wrote X user @H_Nonagesimus, resharing the @DiscussingFilm post, “Instead of capitalizing off of the wuthering heights name while erasing any and all meaning the book originally held, this is so f*cking ridiculous.”

X user @lispenrdst was so distraught they even took a trip to London’s Westminster Abbey after reading the commentary. “Walked up to emily brontë’s memorial, and apologized on behalf of the human race for emerald fennell’s adaptation of wuthering heights,” the wrote, sharing an image of Brontë’s place in the cathedral.

“If you haven’t read wuthering heights, please do it now,” suggested X user @eyretartt. “Don’t let emerald fennell’s adaptation be your first impression of it.”

Some did point out however that directors have a right to interpret stories as they wish, even if it means upsetting diehard fans of the original versions.

“I’m torn on this because on one hand I do not like Emerald Fennell and have no interest in her movies,” wrote X user @theoceanblooms, “But on the other I do actually agree that adaptations don’t need to adhere perfect fidelity to the original work.”

“Not to defend Emerald Fennell, but period film costuming is about conveying information about character in a visual language the audience understands more than faithfully adhering to historical standards,” explained X user @elizabethbelsky. “This is why Kate and Leo had ’90s hair and makeup in Titanic, for instance.”

The Daily Dot reached out to @winterduck04 via X DM, and Kharmel Cochrane via email, for comment.

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