The new movie adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic 1847 novel Wuthering Heights is now playing in theaters, and fans of the book are noticing some big differences. Directed by Emerald Fennell, the film stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. While the movie keeps the core idea of a wild and obsessive love, it leaves out many characters and even the entire second half of the book. Fennell has been open about her choices, explaining that she wanted to make a film based on her personal feelings about the story rather than a page-by-page copy .
The movie has been a hot topic for months, with debates about the casting, the music, and the overall tone. Now that it has been released on February 13, 2026, audiences can finally see for themselves how this version compares to the novel they remember.
What’s Missing? Major Characters and Plotlines Cut
One of the biggest shocks for purists is what—and who—is not in the movie. The film focuses almost entirely on the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff, which means a lot of the book’s complex family drama is gone.
Hindley Earnshaw, Catherine’s older brother, is completely removed from this version. In the book, Hindley is a major character who bullies Heathcliff after their father dies, treating him like a servant. This cruelty is a big part of why Heathcliff becomes so bitter and vengeful. In Fennell’s film, some of Hindley’s actions are given to Catherine’s father, Earnshaw (played by Martin Clunes), who is shown as an alcoholic who can be both loving and abusive .
The movie also gets rid of Mr. Lockwood, the tenant who frames the story in the book. Without him, the film loses its frame-story structure, where an outsider hears the tale from the housekeeper, Nelly. Instead, the story is told in a more straightforward way.
The most significant cut is the entire second generation storyline. The book continues for years after Catherine dies. It follows her daughter, young Cathy, and Hindley’s son, Hareton, as they grow up. Heathcliff, still obsessed with his lost love, raises them both in cruel ways. The book ends with young Cathy and Hareton finding love and starting to heal the wounds of the past. Fennell’s movie ends right when Catherine dies, with Heathcliff holding her body .
Isabella Linton’s Story Takes a Different Turn
The character of Isabella Linton, played by Alison Oliver, is still in the movie, but her story is quite different. In the book, Isabella is Edgar Linton’s young sister. She falls for Heathcliff, runs away with him, and he abuses her terribly as part of his revenge against her family. She eventually escapes him.
In the film, Isabella is changed to Edgar’s ward rather than his sister. More notably, her relationship with Heathcliff is portrayed differently. The movie shows their marriage as having a BDSM element, with Isabella seemingly going along with it in a way that is more consensual than in the book. There are scenes where she wears a dog collar and crawls on the floor . This change has made some viewers uncomfortable, as it alters the dynamic of power and abuse that Brontë wrote about.
The Focus on Physical Romance
The 1847 novel is famous for its intense emotional and psychological obsession, but it is not very physically explicit. There is only one actual kiss described between Cathy and Heathcliff. Fennell’s version takes a very different path. The film includes explicit sex scenes and portrays a full-blown physical affair between the two leads .
When the first trailer dropped in September 2025, it immediately sparked comments online. Some viewers compared it to erotic films like Fifty Shades of Grey. One fan on social media wrote, “Fifty Shades of Grey: 1800s Version” . Another person posted on X, “Fine, I’ll bite. Casting a white man for Heathcliff broke this adaptation at the very foundation because I look at Jacob Elordi and all I see is a caricature and fundamental misunderstanding of the source material” .
However, Margot Robbie has a different view of the film’s romance. In an interview with Vogue, she said, “Everyone’s expecting this to be very, very raunchy. I think people will be surprised. Not to say there aren’t sexual elements and that it’s not provocative – it definitely is provocative – but it’s more romantic than provocative” .
Why the Director Made These Changes
Emerald Fennell has been very clear about her reasons for straying from the book. She told Entertainment Weekly that she started writing the script by simply remembering how she felt about the book when she first read it as a teenager. She admitted that her memories included things that “were both real and not real” and involved a “certain amount of wish fulfillment” .
She explained that if she were making a TV series, she could include everything. “But if you’re making a movie, and you’ve got to be fairly tight, you’ve got to make those kind of hard decisions,” Fennell said . She chose to focus on what she called “the feeling” of the book, particularly the intense, doomed love story from the first half. She also defended ending the film with Catherine’s death, saying the story is “cyclical” and about a love that is forever, even when it has a “terrible, sad, tragic stop” .
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Casting Choices and Fan Reactions
The casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff has been one of the most debated topics. In the novel, Heathcliff is described as a “dark-skinned gypsy” with “black eyes,” leading many scholars to believe he was a person of color . Elordi is a white Australian actor. Casting director Kharmel Cochrane defended the choice earlier, saying, “There is no need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art” .
Margot Robbie also defended her co-star, telling Vogue, “I saw him play Heathcliff, and he is Heathcliff. I’d say, just wait. Trust me, you’ll be happy.” She even compared him to acting legends, saying, “I honestly think he’s our generation’s Daniel Day-Lewis” .
The age of the actors has also been a talking point. Robbie was 34 and Elordi was 27 during filming, while the characters in the book are teenagers . Robbie’s look, with blonde hair, also differs from the dark-haired Catherine described by Brontë .
Reviews for the film have been mixed. As of its release, it holds a 66 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes . The Boston Globe criticized the lead pair, saying, “While strikingly attractive on their own, Elordi and Robbie have zero romantic chemistry” . Other critics have praised the film’s boldness, calling it a “brash, funny, extravagant spectacle” .
Despite the debates, the film has successfully gotten people talking. Whether they love it or hate it, many are curious to see Fennell’s vision. As one fan commented on social media after seeing the trailer, “They saltburned Emily Brontë, consider me sat”.
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