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'Wuthering Heights' Film Casting Director Irks Fans After Justifying Casting Decisions By Claiming 'It's Just A Book'

Jacob Elordi; Margot Robbie
Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images; MICHAEL TRAN/AFP/Getty Images

After getting hit with backlash for casting Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in an upcoming film adaption of Wuthering Heights, casting director Kharmel Cochrane spoke out to defend her casting choices—and angered fans even further in the process.

McKenzie Lynn Tozan
By McKenzie Lynn TozanApr 30, 2025
McKenzie Lynn Tozan
McKenzie Lynn Tozan has been a part of the George Takei family since 2019 when she wrote some of her favorite early pieces: Sesame Street introducing its first character who lived in foster care and Bruce Willis delivering a not-so-Die-Hard opening pitch at a Phillies game. She's gone on to write nearly 3,000 viral and trending stories for George Takei, Comic Sands, Percolately, and ÜberFacts. With an unstoppable love for the written word, she's also an avid reader, poet, and indie novelist.
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It was recently announced that Wuthering Heights, the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, is being adapted for the screen at Warner Bros. Pictures. The leading director is Emerald Fennell, and the casting director is Kharmel Cochrane, who was involved in the award-winning Nosferatu and Saltburn.

For those who got through high school and college without having to read the novel, it's a dark, psychological thriller with Gothic horror undertones—and also a love story. That's the power of Emily Brontë, who published just one novel in her lifetime.

Wuthering Heights has a massive fanbase of readers committed to the novel's symbolism and layers, and they're eager for a film adaptation that accurately portrays both the beauty and creepiness of the story.

This isn't the first time that Wuthering Heights has been adapted to the screen, but a recurring issue has been the leading lady, Catherine Earnshaw, being older than written, and Heathcliff being played by a white actor while he was written as "dark-skinned" and as a "ragged, dark-haired child... as dark almost as if it came from the devil."

Naturally, fans had hoped that those involved with casting the film might have learned from earlier missteps.

Alas.

The first big reveal was that 34-year-old Margot Robbie was cast as 18-year-old Catherine Earnshaw, and 27-year-old Jacob Elordi as the tumultuous Heathcliff, the foster son of the Earnshaw family.










When Kharmel Cochrane responded to the backlash, she managed only to fan the flames by dismissing the source material.

"There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot, but just wait 'til you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not."
"But you really don't need to be accurate. It's just a book. That is not based on real life. It's all art."
"Years ago, I would get people saying, 'Did you read the brief?' And I'd say, 'Yeah, and this is my interpretation of it, just like when you read a book.'"

Cochrane then drove the knife even deeper, promising this was just the beginning of her creative license.

"There are even more shocking differences to come. There's definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy."
"Wait until you see the set design because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it."

Fans wondered why Cochrane even wanted to work on the project.










Cochrane is not wrong in saying that "it's all art," but as Wuthering Heights fans have so perfectly pointed out, it's also important to honor source material when it exists.

Wuthering Heights is a classic for good reason, and casting people who might accurately portray Brontë's characters seems like a reasonable ask.

The fact that Cochrane has teased about playing with different aspects of the story because "it's just a book" and "it's all art" is a huge disappointment.

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