Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi 'Wuthering Heights' Adaptation Casting Criticized Online: 'So Wrong For Both Parts'
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi's casting as the leads of the upcoming "Wuthering Heights" adaptation has failed to impress fans of the classic Emily Brontë novel.
News broke this week that Robbie, 34, and Elordi, 27, are set to star as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in the anticipated "Wuthering Heights" film, which will be written, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell.
However, the casting choice quickly sparked a debate on X (formerly Twitter), with some fans saying that Robbie and Elordi were not suitable to play the two star-crossed lovers.
"No hate to Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi but neither of them have enough Psychologically Tortured vibes to play Cathy and Heathcliff. Like a 'Wuthering Heights' adaptation simply needs actors who are weirder," one person tweeted.
"This is literally the worst casting ever omg," another complained. "Don't even get me started on the apparent age issue here but also Jacob as Heathcliff?? C'mon now has anybody read the book[?]"
"They're both so wrong for both parts it's not even funny," a third comment read.
Some social media users claimed that Robbie and Elordi both look too modern for a period piece.
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Others insisted that Robbie is not the right age for Cathy -- who is in her teens -- and that Heathcliff -- who is described in the book as "dark-skinned" -- should not be played by a white actor. The character's ancestry was not specified in the novel.
"White Heathcliff and 34-year-old Cathy, and they both look like they belong on instagram.... I'm obsessed. Emerald Fennell does it again [derogatory]," TV and film critic Gavia Baker-Whitelaw tweeted.
"Isn't Heathcliff mixed race lmao? how disappointing in the year 2024," another person wrote on X.
"So f**king lame," a third X user commented on the casting choice. "Heathcliff not being white is like [for real] part of the plot."
However, fans of the actors were looking forward to seeing Robbie and Elordi teaming up for a feature film.
"Looking forward to seeing them both together," one fan commented.
"Nate and Barbie together? It's gonna be real fun," another wrote.
A different user quipped, "I can smell the Oscars from here!"
"Wuthering Heights" has been adapted for the screen several times, with Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Ralph Fiennes, Timothy Dalton and Tom Hardy playing the brooding Heathcliff.
The character was played by a Black actor for the first time when James Howson starred opposite Kaya Scodelario in Andrea Arnold's 2011 adaptation.
According to Variety, Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" is expected to start filming in 2025 in the U.K. A premiere date has not been announced.