“The matcha Dubai chocolate Labubu of film”: New “Wuthering Heights” trailer slammed as too horny, whitewashed, and nothing like Brontë’s novel
The first trailer for the 2026 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights dropped this week, and instead of excitement, it’s left many longtime fans bristling. The gothic classic by Emily Brontë is known for its bleak romance and themes of class and race, but the trailer emphasizes romanticized lusty stares, finger-sucking, and a Charli XCX soundtrack.
That 1980s wedding dress is only the beginning of their list of complaints.
Too white and sexy to be Wuthering Heights?
The trailer teases the type of film that loves to be released the day before Valentine's Day, as is planned for this 2026 adaptation. It features a heavy amount of longing eyes, fingers in mouths, and bodice-related heat. There's even some of that sensual dough kneading that grew popular on TikTok in recent years.
The original Wuthering Heights is a 1847 British novel by Emily Brontë. It portrays a fraught and tragic romance between Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) and includes various dark themes. It initially drew controversy for its challenges to the Victorian class system and even some hints at romantic race-mixing.
Brontë heavily implies that Heathcliff has Roma ancestry or is at least not white, with dark hair, eyes, and skin. This makes the romance between him and the very English and high-class Catherine all the more forbidden.
In the year 2025, you can probably guess why people have a problem with casting Jacob Elordi. In fact, they had the problem back when Warner Bros. announced it in 2024.
X user @andorlorians pointed out back then that "Heathcliff is described as a dark-skinned brown man in the book and a major plot point is that he was subjected to racist abuse by his adopted family."
"Fifty shades of Heathcliff and Cathy"
The horniness of the trailer, combined with the reminder of the whitewashed casting, led to specific opinions on who exactly this film is for.
On Wednesday, @defneorsomethin wrote, "not to be that one friend who is too woke but bleaching the class and racial otherness out of wuthering heights to sell a horny whitewashed romance genuinely pisses me off."
User @daehaerys thinks that "emily bronte is rising from her grave as we speak because why did they turn wuthering heights into fifty shades of heathcliff and cathy."
The addition of original music by Charli XCX isn't helping the perception that they're taking too many liberties with the original text.
"i wish i did not live to see the day wuthering heights, a beautiful gothic novel about the cycle of generational trauma with themes of race, class, religion, mental illness, abuse, etc., was adapted into a white washed dark romance booktok bodice ripper with a hyperpop soundtrack," said @lynchianbush.
Meanwhile, @atotalposer posted a disapproving gif alongside the caption "'wuthering heights starring margot robbie and jacob elordi with original songs by charli xcx.'"
All of this adds up to literary fans feeling like the studio is trying too hard to attract a young audience by cramming in nods to modern trends, potentially creating a hollow shell of a classic.
X user @chappellbrina said that "wuthering heights starring margot robbie and jacob elordi featuring charli xcx on the soundtrack is kinda the matcha dubai chocolate labubu of film."
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