It's pretty early, but we might already have a winner for the most controversial movie of 2026: Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights . Coming off her viral hit Saltburn , Fennell's next movie was already anticipated, but her adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel, which tracks the tormented relationship between characters Heathcliff and Cathy, and its devastating impact on the people around them, has courted a different kind of excitement online.
Though the movie has only received a handful of set photos, a Harlequin romance-styled poster, and a trailer set to the tune of Charli xcx, the discourse over Fennell's adaptive choices is already in full swing. Much of this stems from the modernized tone and sexually-charged visuals , as well as the anachronistic costuming choices