Jacob Elordi Is Set To Play Heathcliff In "Wuthering Heights," And Here's Why That's Being Called Out

Jacob Elordi's apparent casting in an upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation has garnered some criticism.

Yesterday, Deadline announced that Jacob will be playing Heathcliff alongside Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw. The Emerald Fennell-helmed adaptation is currently in pre-production and slated to start filming next year.

The problem is, Heathcliff in the original Emily Brontë book likely isn't white. He's a foundling who is described early in the novel as "a dark-skinned gipsy," with Mr. Linton saying that he is "a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway." Later it is suggested that when Heathcliff prayed to God he was instead met "with his own black father."

In the description of Heathcliff's arrival to the family, Earnshaw calls the "ragged, black-haired child"..."as dark almost as if it came from the devil." Heathcliff is repeatedly referred to as "it" and a "gipsy brat" that is described as speaking "some gibberish that nobody could understand."

In one scene with Nelly, Heathcliff says of Edgar Linto, "I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed, and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as he will be!" In response, Nelly urges him to use the ambiguity of his birth to his advantage, saying, "Who knows but your father was Emperor of China and your mother an Indian queen, each of them able to buy up, with one week's income, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange together? And you were kidnapped by wicked sailors and brought to England."

Despite this, Heathcliff has been played by white actors in most major adaptations — including Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hardy, and Richard Burton. The notable exception to this is James Howson, who starred in a 2011 film version.

As such, some criticized Jacob's casting on social media. One such post garnered over 127k likes, reading, "heathcliff is described as a dark-skinned brown man in the book and a major plot point is that he was subjected to racist abuse by his adopted family. but yeah sure jacob elordi is perfect!"

Twitter: @madeline_cct

We'll keep you posted with any updates.