Margot Robbie is addressing the backlash over her and Jacob Elordi‘s casting in Emerald Fennell‘s Wuthering Heights adaptation.
In a new interview, the Barbie star explained why she understands the comments about her and Elordi taking on the lead roles.
“I get it,” Robbie told British Vogue. “There’s nothing else to go off at this point until people see the movie.”
Wuthering Heights is loosely based on Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, with Robbie’s Catherine being described as a brunette teenager. However, Robbie is blonde and 35 years old in real life, which led some fans to criticize the casting choice when the steamy trailer dropped earlier this year. The casting of Elordi as Heathcliff also drew pushback, as the character is described as “dark-skinned” in the novel.
“I saw him play Heathcliff,” Robbie says. “And he is Heathcliff. I’d say, just wait. Trust me, you’ll be happy. 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. 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.”
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Fennell weighed in on why she chose Robbie to be the lead of her film, saying, “Cathy is a star. She’s willful, mean, a recreational sadist, a provocateur. She engages in cruelty in a way that is disturbing and fascinating. It was about finding someone who you would forgive in spite of yourself, someone who literally everyone in the world would understand why you love her. It’s difficult to find that supersized star power. Margot comes with big dick energy. That’s what Cathy needs.”
Wuthering Heights opens in theatres on February 13, 2026.
