Barry Keoghan in SaltburnAfter getting the whole world talking with her second film, Saltburn, fans have been pondering what Emerald Fennell might have up her sleeve for the follow-up.
On Friday evening, the Oscar winner revealed that her next project would be an adaptation of the gothic novel Wuthering Heights.
She revealed the news on social media, with custom artwork by Katie Buckley that featured a dramatic skull design and a quote from Emily Brontë’s original book: “Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad!”
— Emerald Fennell (@emeraldfennell) July 12, 2024
Emerald previously spoke of her “obsession” with all things gothic while promoting Saltburn.
She wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “The gothic world has always had me in its grip. It’s a genre where comedy and horror, revulsion and desire, sex and death are forever entwined, where every exchange is heavy with the threat of violence, or sex or both.”
Wuthering Heights has been adapted for the big screen many times over the years, most recently in 2011, with Kaya Scodelario and James Howson in the lead roles.
It was also notably adapted for the BBC in the mid-1960s, with Ian McShane and Angela Scoular, which served as the inspiration for Kate Bush’s 1978 hit of the same name.
Tom Hardy also played Heathcliffe in a 2009 version of Wuthering Heights produced by ITV.
The daughter of jewellery designer Theo Fennell and author Louise Fennell, Emerald began her career in the entertainment industry as an actor, appearing in the likes of Call The Midwife, The Danish Girl and The Crown, in which she played a younger Queen Camilla.
Emerald Fennell at the Baftas earlier this yearIn 2019, she took over as showrunner of Killing Eve from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, before making the move to the cinema, scooping the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for her directorial debut Promising Young Woman.
The film also received nominations in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Film Editing categories.
Last year, she unveiled her second feature-length offering, Saltburn, which starred Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant and Promising Young Woman star Carey Mulligan.
In 2021, she also teamed up with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the ill-fated musical Cinderella.
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