Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic is poised to be the most provocative film of 2026. With Margot Robbie as Cathy Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, the film isn't aiming for fluffy period-romance —it's pushing the story into a raw, gothic-erotic space. Set to arrive in theatres on just on the cusp of Valentine's Day weekend, February 13th 2026, the version is already generating buzz for its scorched-earth chemistry and very, very steamy, explicit content.
Here's why the film has earned its R-rating and what makes Robbie and Elordi's collaboration so electrifying.
R-Rating Explained: Sexual Content, Nudity, and Gore
The BBFC is expected to formalise a 15 or 18 certificate for the adaptation, following the MPA's R rating in the States. This aligns with the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) and industry trackers who cite "sexual content, some violent content, and language" as the primary drivers for the restricted age rating.
Where previous cinema versions focused on the pair's spiritual longing and tragic romance, Fennell's vision embraces psychological intensity and corporeal desire. The certificate isn't a marketing stunt—it signals that this "Wuthering Heights" is adults only, primal, and unflinching - a far cry from the restrained Victorian period dramas audiences may expect.
Robbie and Elordi: The Heat Behind Heathcliff and Cathy
Early screenings have made one thing clear: Robbie and Elordi's chemistry is incendiary. The novel's obsessional but mostly unconsummated relationship is here rendered physical, extreme, and intensely magnetic. Premiere attendees described the pair as 'twisted,' 'co-dependent,' and 'on another level of hot,' with the physicality prompting audible reactions.
Robbie told Jimmy Kimmel Live that the film's sex scenes were designed around what mature women find compelling, noting, 'We kiss everywhere—but it's emotional as much as physical.' Elordi added to British Vogue that capturing the toxic bond required a mutual obsession on set, and that the dynamic became its own force driving the characters' intensity.
Fennell vs. Brontë: Radical Departures
Fennell has stripped back restraint entirely. Reports from The Guardian and Elite Daily confirm that scenes long implied in the novel are here explicit—masturbation, BDSM-infused encounters, and other acts of heightened eroticism. Her aim isn't shock for shock's sake, but translating the characters' emotional volatility into physical, visceral gestures.
Even familiar moments take on a new edge: the longing, the obsession, and the destructive passion are rendered in ways Brontë never could have imagined on paper.
Why the Adaptation is Being Called "Hyper-Sexualized"
Fennell's signature approach—honed in Promising Young Woman and nearly perfected in the very viral Saltburn—is evident. Suggestive imagery and extreme close-ups heighten the tension: eggs, dough, bread, even slugs become tools to amplify the eroticism and unease. The set pieces, meanwhile, are designed to shock: a public hanging in the opening sequence and a moors scene teased to rival the 'bathtub drain; moment from Saltburn demonstrate her flair for visceral, boundary-pushing storytelling and filmmaking .
The stylized title, 'Wuthering Heights', signals the subjective, much hornier, and messier nature of this adaptation—a clear declaration that this is not your standard Emily Brontë adaptation.
