Two adaptations outshine the 2026 Wuthering Heights remake

Almost one month after its release, Emerald Fennell's 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights remains a hot topic. The film changes a key plot point by making Cathy die of septicemia from a miscarriage, rather than the novel's childbirth death, and it stops after her death instead of moving on to the second generation.

Only two previous adaptations fully tackle the book's second half: the 1978 BBC miniseries and the 1992 film Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Both works follow Heathcliff's descent into madness after Cathy's death and introduce the next generation—Linton and Hareton—while the 2026 movie omits characters like Hindley and his wife Frances.

Some versions, such as the 2011 film, include the younger characters but are often criticized for not showing Heathcliff's later unraveling. Ralph Fiennes' 1992 performance is still praised for capturing Heathcliff's morbid grief, and the BBC's 1978 adaptation draws approval for writer Hugh Leonard's handling of the novel's many subplots.

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