What’s next for Emerald Fennell after “Saltburn“? Deadline reports the multi-hyphenate will direct a new adaptation of Emily Brontë‘s “Wuthering Heights.” Fennell teased her take of on the Gothic romance on X today, complete with a tagline for the project: “Be With Me Always. Take Any Form. Drive Me Mad.”
Those familiar with Brontë’s novel (which she published pseudonymously as Ellis Bell) will recognize “Wuthering Heights” is very much in Fennell’s comfort zone. In fact, the book’s destructive family relationships and intense romances share a similar, slightly deranged quality to “Saltburn,” albeit the 2023 film is much more deranged. Set in the Yorkshire moors, “Wuthering Heights” follows the exploits of two rival families, the Earnshwas and the Lintons, as told by Mr. Lockwood, a tenant of Thrushcross Grange, who learned the tale from a longtime servant. But it’s the central romance between the oprhan Heathcliff and Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter Nelly Dean that makes Brontë’s story so memorable, and also explains why it’s been adapted so many times over the years.
And herein lies the issue of Fennell’s next movie: doe the movie world really need another adaptation of “Wuthering Heights”? Andrea Arnold‘s take on the material came less than fifteen years ago, with Kaya Scodelario and James Howson starring. A 1992 version stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, with Peter Kosminsky directing. And then there’s William Wyler‘s classic 1939 film, which stars Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. In other words, this has all been done before; so is Fennell the kind of director who could make this story her own?
Fennell reunites with MRE for the upcoming film, her second movie in a row with the studio. But outside of that, her “Wuthering Heights” remains a mystery: no cast yet, no distributor, no word if Fennell will adapt Brontë’s novel herself or have some help. But given Fennell’s success with “Saltburn,” a Telluride sensation, and her feature debut “Promising Young Woman,” which won her an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, expect this take on Brontë to get the deluxe treatment whenever it hits theaters.
Stay tuned for casting news for Emerald Fennell’s latest. Is it safe to predict Carey Mulligan will get a cameo somewhere in there?