Wuthering Heights has yet to prove itself worthy, especially to fans who have read the Emily Brontë classic.
As Jacob Elordi continues to face backlash for being cast as Heathcliff, his co-star, Margot Robbie, has come to his defense.
Why Jacob Elordi is the 'Perfect' Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights
The eccentric live-action adaptation of Wuthering Heights was scandalous enough, but fans clamored even more upon finding out that Robbie and Elordi would be starring as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, in fear that they might not have the right look, age, or chemistry for the classic romance.
In the original 1847 novel, Catherine, for one, was brunette and a teenager, opposite to Robbie, who is blonde and 35 years old. Heathcliff is described as a "dark-skinned" outsider with ambiguous heritage.
Robbie, however, believes it's a matter of perspective. In a recent interview with British Vogue, the Oscar-nominated actress addressed the criticism surrounding their roles, "I get it. There's nothing else to go off at this point until people see the movie."
Robbie shed light on the fact that her co-star's acting performance fully convinced her that he was the right choice for Heathcliff.
"I saw him play Heathcliff. And he is Heathcliff. I'd say, just wait. Trust me, you'll be happy," Robbie said, "It's a character that has this lineage of other great actors who've played him, from Laurence Olivier to Richard Burton and Ralph Fiennes to Tom Hardy."
Robbie added, "To be a part of that is special. He's incredible, and I believe in him so much. I honestly think he's our generation's Daniel Day-Lewis."
What Wuthering Heights Creator Has Said in Defense of the Adaptation
In the interview, it was also revealed that it was the Frankenstein star who inspired Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) to adapt Wuthering Heights, especially after seeing him with sideburns on the set of Saltburn.
According to Fennell, he looked like "Heathcliff on the cover of the book that I've had since I was a teenager."
While promoting the forbidden, destructive love that's about to unfold on the big screens on Valentine's Day next year, Fennell also defended that Wuthering Heights is the kind of film that "means so much to you" and yet "it can't love me back, and I have to live with that."
Fennell also defended why she had chosen Robbie as the aged-up Catherine of her version, "It needed somebody like Margot... somebody who has a power, an otherworldly power, a godlike power, that means people lose their minds."
Wuthering Heights is set to premiere in theaters on February 13, 2026.
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