Jacob Elordi might have been cast in Wuthering Heights – and fans are not impressed as it is pointed out that he doesn’t exactly fit the description.
It has been rumoured that Elordi, 27, and Margot Robbie, 34, are set to lead the cast of Saltburn director Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
While the project is still in pre-production fans have been anxiously waiting to hear more about this film which is likely to be a smash at the box office given the success of Fennell’s previous films.
While fans were ‘losing their minds’ when the project was announced, many were unimpressed by the casting choices.
It has been highlighted by several fans of the original book that Elordi is white and doesn’t have the ‘dark skin’ of the character from the book, meaning the film has missed the opportunity to cast a person of colour in this iconic role.
Fans took to X to express their disappointment as the actor – who also starred in Fennell’s Saltburn – was set to play the iconic character.
Heathcliff is a classic anti-hero and the leading love interest in this gothic love story. His main love interest in the series is Catherine Earnshaw, who is pegged to be played by Robbie.
In the book, his skin colour is a major theme and part of the reason that he is ostracised by the Earnshaws, the family who foster him as a foundling.
One part of the novel describes Heathcliff as a ‘dark-skinned gypsy in aspect and a little lascar,’ and there are several other references to his dark, ethnically ambiguous complexion.
The book has been adapted several times over the years, with white male actors typically selected to play this role.
Famous faces to play the role include Tom Hardy, Ralph Fiennes, Timothy Dalton, and Laurence Olivier.
In the most recent adaptation of the book which was released in 2011 by the BBC, James Howson, was cast as Heathcliffe, making him the first Black actor to play the role. Solomon Glave, another young Black actor also played Young Heathcliff in the series.
Others also felt that Margot and Jacob were simply too normal to play these tortured characters.
‘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,’ said timewrinkles.
‘No hate to margot robbie and jacob elordi of course but for wuthering heights ??? no. their faces are too modern,’ said spaceflproject.
It was also pointed out that Cathy is aged 18 or 19 in the book, meaning 34-year-old Robbie may be a little too old for this teenage role.
While the casting of the gothic horror flick hasn’t been officially confirmed just yet, it has been revealed that shooting for this film will begin in 2025.