What’s the latest on Emerald Fennell‘s “Wuthering Heights” adaptation? Deadline reports that Fennell has padded out her main cast list in the project, adding Hong Chau, Alison Oliver, and Shazard Latif to her ensemble. And those new cast members foretell what fans of Emily Brontë’s novel already knew after Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi‘s castings: this isn’t your parent’s “Wuthering Heights” adaptation.
No, with Robbie playing the teen Catherine Earnshaw, and Elordi playing the “dark-skinned” orphan Heathfliff, Fennell has a very …distinct vision in mind for her latest film. And Chau and Latif’s castings double down on that impression. Chau will play narrator Nelly Dean in the movie, who recounts the destruction entanglements of the Earnshaw and Linton families in the novel to new Thrushcross Grange tenant Mr. Lockwood. Meanwhile, Latif plays Edgar Linton, an aristocrat who marries Robbie’s Catherine, with Oliver playing Linton’s sister, Isabella. It’s another juice role for Oliver via Fennell, who had a supporting role in last year’s “Saltburn.”
Fennell directs the film, adapts Brontë’s novel, and produces her latest project. This rendition of “Wuthering Heights” is a Warner Bros. affair, with Robbie’s LuckyChap and MRC also producing. Warner Bros. outbid other studios shortly after Fennell announced the project this past summer. It’s a reunion for Fennell and MRC, who also financed “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM was the studio for that one). And “Wuthering Heights” is another LuckyChap project for Warner Bros., which gave Robbie’s banner a multiyear first-look deal after the massive success of “Barbie” last summer.
Maid Nelly Dean may be Chau’s biggest role to date. She’s had major roles before, like her breakout in Alexander Payne‘s “Downsizing,” but “Wuthering Heights” is ultimately Nelly’s story; so, a major coup for the actress. Other recent work for Chau includes “The Instigators,” “Kinds Of Kindess,” “Asteroid City,” and Netflix‘s “The Night Agent.” She also has a role in Amazon MGM’s upcoming comedy “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie.”
As noted earlier, Oliver also starred in Fennell’s sophomore feature “Saltburn.” Other work for the actress includes Justin Kurzel‘s buzzy upcoming thriller “The Order” opposite Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult, in theaters on December 6. She also stars next in HBO‘s upcoming miniseries “Task.”
Latif recently starred with Daisy Ridley in the neo-noir “Magpie.” Other movie work includes “The Commuter,” “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” and “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
No word on when “Wuthering Heights” will hit theaters, but expect it to be a tentpole release for Warner Bros. sometime in 2026.
