New Margot Robbie photos spark controversy online

Aussie star Margot Robbie is copping a roasting after these photos of her on the set of her next movie surfaced online.

These photos show a first look at Margot Robbie in her next iconic role - and if the initial reaction is anything to go by, it should be controversial.

Robbie takes on the iconic role of Catherine Earnshaw in the latest big screen adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic novel Wuthering Heights, with fellow Aussie Jacob Elordi playing Heathcliff.

This adaptation of the tale of doomed romance is being brought to the screen by Emerald Fennell, the writer-director behind hit films Saltburn and Promising Young Woman.

But new mum Robbie’s casting as “Cathy” has raised some eyebrows - and a spoiler warning for what’s to follow, if you haven’t had a chance to read Emily Bronte’s novel in the 178 years since it was first published.

“Let me in ya window M8”: Margot as Cathy. Picture: SPLASH / BACKGRID

While Bronte’s novel doesn’t include specific dates and ages, Cathy is barely an adult when she tragically dies in childbirth in the book, no more than 19 years old. Her wedding to Edgar, presumably the scene Robbie is playing in these on-set photos, comes when she’s just 18 years old.

With Robbie herself a few months shy of her 35th birthday, that means she’s almost double the age of the character she plays. And much of the tragedy of Bronte’s novel lies in the premature nature of Catherine’s death, as her true love, Heathcliff, lives on tormented to have lost her before they had a chance to be together.

Possibly out of frame: Pumpkin-style coach. Picture: SPLASH / BACKGRID

With the photos circulating on social media, it’s clear fans of the book have issues: With Robbie’s age, with her costume and styling, and even with her face looking too “modern” for a story set in the late 1700s.

“Oh yes, the highlights and the tan scream 1700s,” one person quipped.

“Why is she looking straight out of Sephora?” another asked.

Another wondered if the film was “somehow not related to the book, [but] actually about a group of 30 year olds that live in a gated community called Wuthering Heights? In present day?”

“Seeing Margot Robbie as Catherine from wuthering heights in that godawful dress just ruined my entire week,” read another complaint.

“Look at this 17-year-old teenager in 1783,” one person sarcastically captioned the photos, while another pointed out that “casting someone in their 30s as a character who dies at 18 (EIGHTEEN) years old is really odd. The prematurity of Cathy’s death is a whole turning point in the story.”

Merle Oberon played Cathy in her late 20s …

… while Kaya Scodelario was a teen herself when she played the role.

To be fair, previous adaptations of Wuthering Heights haven’t always cast teens to play Cathy.

Actress Merle Oberon was in her late 20s when she starred alongside Laurence Olivier in the 1939 movie, as was Juliette Binoche when she played her alongside Ralph Fiennes in a 1992 version.

Actress Kaya Scodelario was 19 when she played Cathy in a 2011 film adaptation.

We’ll have to wait a while to find out if Fennell and co. pull off the unusual casting choice. With filming still underway, Wuthering Heights is not scheduled to be released until February next year.

Originally published as New Margot Robbie photos spark controversy online