Emerald Fennell Teases Potential Adaptation of Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights'

Emerald Fennell, the director behind the acclaimed 2020 film 'Promising Young Woman', has hinted at her next project possibly being a film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 'Wuthering Heights.' This speculation arises from a recent social media post by Fennell, where she shared an image featuring lines from the classic novel: “Be with me always – Take any form – Drive me mad.” The post also includes a credit to Katie Buckley and ends with the intriguing caption: “A film by Emerald Fennell.”

While Fennell hasn't officially confirmed her role in a new adaptation, Variety reports suggest she will be collaborating once more with MRC, the studio that produced her latest hit, 'Saltburn.'

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Emily Brontë’s 'Wuthering Heights,' published in 1847, remains a seminal work in gothic fiction, narrating the tumultuous saga of two gentry families in the West Yorkshire moors. The novel's exploration of intense, often destructive emotions has inspired numerous film adaptations over the years. Notable versions include William Wyler’s 1939 rendition featuring Laurence Olivier and the 2011 adaptation directed by Andrea Arnold, starring Kaya Scodelario and James Howson.

Fennell has previously expressed her admiration for the gothic genre. In an article for the LA Times earlier this year, she shared her lifelong fascination with gothic elements: “I’ve always been obsessed with the gothic. Whether it was Edward Gorey’s children who are variously choked by peaches, sucked dry by leeches or smothered by rugs; Du Maurier’s imperilled heroines or the disturbing erotic power of Angela Carter’s fairy tales, the gothic world has always had me in its grip.”

Fennell further elaborated on the genre's appeal, highlighting its unique blend of contrasting emotions: “It’s a genre where comedy and horror, revulsion and desire, sex and death are forever entwined, where every exchange is heavy with the threat of violence, or s*x or both.”