‘Wuthering Heights’ trailer release shocks! Feast your eyes on more sensationally anachronistic adaptations

The director who brought us Saltburn is back with a bang, ruffling even more feathers with her latest adaptation of Emily Bronte’s gothic romance, Wuthering Heights.

Emerald Fennell’s upcoming movie sees Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie — fellow Australians — become the latest pair to portray the doomed and dark romance between the classic novel’s Heathcliff and Catherine.

Launch of the latest trailer however has divided the internet, to barely anyone’s surprise.

Considering that not only is the newly released footage riddled with provocatively sexual images — not very convincing by the source material’s Victorian standards — it is also set to a remix of Charli XCX’s very contemporary track, Everything is romantic.

All of this points in the direction of historical anachronism — a style, often adopted deliberately, characterised by the use of chronically incoherent elements in stories set during certain periods in history.

Such elements can range from costumes, dialogue, accents, soundtrack, et al — when employed in a historical setting where they don’t belong, often adopted from the future, you end up with what is called an anachronistic adaptation.

While the trailer did its intended job for now — set social media abuzz — every polar take regarding what we have been fed so far has no way of being validated or discarded until next year.

That’s right — Wuthering Heights will release on Valentine’s Day 2026.

Until then, maybe you could give the British filmmaker some benefit of the doubt and check out these other examples which also had a similarly anachronistic take on various historical eras:

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

A visually delicious spectacle from Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge! stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in a stylish adaptation which brings the titular Parisian cabaret to life with pop music which was dominating the global scene at the time of its release.

The jukebox musical features contemporary songs by David Bowie, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and more.

Further including the hit number Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, first performed by Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — Moulin Rouge! is a masterclass in anachronism done right.

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Get ready to see Baz Luhrmann far more frequently than others on this list because our good Australian friend is rather fond of a well done anachronistic film.

Ever the maximalist, Luhrmann’s adaptation of the classic Shakespearean tragedy stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes as the titular star crossed lovers, supported by a huge ensemble cast — all of whom speak lines from the play exactly as they were written, though the plot is based during the effortlessly cool 1990s.

Transporting the setting of Shakespeare’s timeless classic from the Italian city of Verona to the hip and vibrant Verona Beach, located in the States, the director and co-screenwriter of the film swapped the aristocratic backgrounds of the original feuding families to represent modern mafia empires, duelling swords for slinging guns, Juliet’s balcony for her swimming pool in a pivotal scene from the story — choices which came together to produce a delightful blend of a filmmaking marvel which resonates with audiences till date.

A Knight’s Tale (2001)

Adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer’s seminal medieval text The Canterbury Tales, A Knight’s Tale is based on The Knight’s Tale from the book, and stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher — a peasant turned knight.

The film went on to achieve great box office success and scored high with audiences at the time of its release and since, with a modern upgrade to its medieval setting, lining up the soundtrack with lively contemporary tunes and dance — a decision which allowed for better expression of the film’s different moods for its young target audience.

For what it’s worth — culture critic Anthony Lane raved about one of the film’s anachronistic choices, writing in David Bowie’s obituary that he thought A Knight’s Tale’s usage of the late singer’s song Golden Years was “the best and most honest use of anachronism that I know of.”

Marie Antoinette (2006)

Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette transforms the titular French queen, played by Kirsten Dunst, into a teenager which modern audiences can recognise.

Since the real Marie Antoinette was only 14 years of age when she was married to King Louis XVI, while he was still known as Dauphin Louis, the director chose to portray the teenage whims of her protagonist through various anachronisms like Converse being a part of her closet and other modern wardrobe elements woven into the film’s 18th century costumes.

Far Out describes Coppola’s style as “a part of the substance and vice versa” — a notion which was echoed in the bold gamble that was Marie Antoinette, which forever changed the game for historical biopics, since most of the anachronistic adaptations have been attempted for fictional material while the Kirsten Dunst starrer took the chance with upgrading real historical events and personalities to charmingly fit modern taste.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Finishing things off with yet another Baz Luhrmann creation, this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerlad’s take on the American dream took a few liberties to portray the Roaring Twenties as they are usually imagined.

Starring Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby features the construction of Chrysler Building and Empire State Building — two instantly recognisable New York monuments which were not worked on until 1928 and 1930 respectively, while the film is set in 1922.

More anachronistic characteristics include vehicles and technology a few years ahead of the film’s setting, as well as the Charleston — a dance which only became popular in 1926.

Though The Great Gatsby was not as big a success as Luhrmann’s previous endeavours, it’s clear that the anachronisms did not contribute to its failure and only enhance the flippantly extravagant style, much familiar to and revered by the director’s fans.