Margot Robbie adds fuel to Wuthering Heights theory that film will be set in modern day

Margot Robbie appears to have dropped a major hint that a viral Wuthering Heights theory may very well be correct.

Robbie has teamed up with Euphoria star Jacob Elordi to play iconic literary characters Cathy and Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's x-rated adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic book.

Early teasers for the film have suggested that Fennell's adaptation will see a novel focused on obsession, revenge and social class transformed into a steamy thriller packed with sex and surrealism.

Which is a huge departure from a book which sees its protagonists do little more than a few, chaste kisses.

The film has received mixed reviews ahead of its Valentines Day premiere, with the film's erotic focus and non-book accurate casting of Robbie and Elordi being major sticking points for people.

But what if I told you there was a very good reason for Fennell's film taking so many liberties with the original source material?

What has Margot Robbie said about the new Wuthering Heights film?

During an interview with Jake's Takes, the Barbie star called Fennell's take on the film an 'interpretation' rather than a straight up adaptation.

"This is more of an interpretation rather than an adaptation," Robbie said, referencing the numerous adaptations of Wuthering Heights which have been between 1939 and the modern day.

"It's Emerald giving you the feeling she had when she read the book at 14. It's not a page for page recreation," she added.

"Instead, what she's done is taken the feeling the book gave her and then made a film to give you that feeling."

Robbie's comments aren't the first time the idea of Wuthering Heights being a loose interpretation rather than adaptation has been put forward, with one very credible theory doing the rounds for the past couple of months.

Could there be more than meets the eye with Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Wuthering Heights? (Warner Bros)

What is the theory which suggests Wuthering Heights is a modern retelling?

Following the release of the film's initial trailer back in September, particular attention started to be paid to the use of quotation marks around the film's official title, "Wuthering Heights" and if they're a deliberate wink wink, nudge nudge that the film isn't going to be strictly following Brontë's novel. This isn't the only clue either, with TikTok creator @itsyourfilmsis noting how the film's costuming varied between Victorian and regency eras, which suggested to her that Robbie's character isn't actually Cathy but instead a woman reading the book and fantasising about being Cathy.

"She may be a Victorian woman reading the book and slowly fantasising herself into it, slowly descending into madness," she said.

"It's possible that she's just a fellow yearner like us, dissociating."

Interesting.

Comments from both Robbie and Fennell certainly suggest the film is an interpretation rather and straightforward adaptation (Warner Bros)

Are there any clues to support this theory?

In the months since Film Sis shared her viral theory and there are now numerous clues which suggest she may have been either bang on or very close with her comments.

Stills from the film have proved that Robbie's costumes, which includes red latex and a dress which can only be described as resembling Christmas gift wrapping, are certainly the modern day Pinterest board version of period clothing rather than period accurate, while Fennell has gone hard on pushing the narrative of trying to recreate the feeling she had while reading the book as a teenager.

"I can't say I'm making Wuthering Heights. It's not possible. What I can say is I'm making a version of it," the Saltburn director previously told Fandango.

This certainly doesn't look like a dilapidated cottage on the Yorkshire moors in the late 18th century (Warner Bros)

"There's a version that I remembered reading that isn't quite real. And there's a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened. And so it is 'Wuthering Heights', and it isn't."

Fennell's suggestion that she's created a version of the book based on her teenage memories could also explain her casting decisions. For example Robbie, a blonde actor in her 30's, is a closer resemblance to Fennell than the book's description of Cathy, who is described as a teenager with 'dark curls'.

It may also explain the Promising Young Woman writer's reasoning for casting Elordi as Heathcliff. In the books, Heathcliff is described as 'dark-skinned gypsy' or a 'Spanish castaway' who was found at Liverpool docs, a port which was played an important part in Britain's slave trade, suggesting he could be Romani, mixed-race, South Asian or Black – but certainly not white.

Fennell has spoken openly about wanting to create a film which recreated how she felt reading the book as a teenager (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

It's a topic which she briefly touched on during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter when asked about casting Elordi as Heathcliff, saying: "You can only ever kind of make the movie that you imagined yourself when you read it."

While it's unlikely that we're going to see a modern day Robbie literally kicking back and reading the book while enjoying a glass of rose, it's looking pretty certain that Fennell's interpretation is much more than a straightforward adaptation.

Wuthering Heights releases in UK cinemas on 13 February.