The year 2026 is full of highly anticipated movies such as “Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, “The Devil Wears Prada 2”, “Michael” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Along with these come two historical adaptations of “Wuthering Heights” and “The Odyssey.”
“Wuthering Heights” is set to be released Feb. 13. However, some people are already concerned about the inaccuracies. Some are historical, but there are other issues fans have been discussing since the movie was cast.
Some of the biggest flaws people see are in the actors. The ages are completely wrong: Margot Robbie, who plays Catherine, is 35, playing a 19-year-old. Jacob Elordi, playing Heathcliff, is 28, portraying someone who is supposed to be much older than his co-star. This may not be the main “historical” issue people have, but it is something that was not accurate to the book or the time period.
The fact that Elordi, a white actor, is supposed to be playing a man of color is also concerning. Again, perhaps not the historical issue fans are looking at, but the reason the characters were not allowed to be together was that Elordi’s character was a man of color. This type of love was not accepted at the time. Fans are wondering what will keep them apart in the movie, if not the color of Elordi’s skin.
There is an idea that period dramas are being reimagined for younger audiences. When growing up with crazy romance stories and teen dramas, productions may need to start changing to get a new audience hooked. While this idea may draw in some viewers, it is incredibly controversial as it changes the initial reason for stories like this one.
The clothing they wear in the movie is an inaccuracy that makes some fans angry. Some say that in many period pieces, the corsets that actresses wear are either too accurate for the films or not accurate enough. In this film, the production changed some of Robbie’s outfits to make the scenes “sexier,” but then she had to wear uncomfortable corsets in other scenes.
The problem fans have is that if they have to wear corsets that cause them pain for accuracy, then the production should make everything accurate. Other fans are saying that Robbie looks too perfect to play a teenager in the 18th century.
“The Odyssey” has costume concerns as well. Matt Damon’s Odysseus costume, specifically his helmet, was leaked in early 2025, and fans tore it apart. Their love for the original piece shone through as they peeked at the upcoming epic’s spoilers. As Homer embellishes his weapons, armor, ships and architecture in his story, the director has no reason not to follow what is historically accurate. Fans have begun questioning how much effort the team put into the production and if it was taken seriously.
The epic is set in the Archaic Era, but the movie seems to be in the Late Bronze Age. While most people will not notice the difference, scholars will. The helmet is something that people online have pulled apart, but some of the issue is that they were made for Greek faces, and Matt Damon is not as Greek as Odysseus, so the costumes cannot be made accurate for him or other actors.
Both “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” are incredibly famous and important pieces of literature in Western culture. Scholars study these texts for long periods of time, so the lack of detail and wrong facts in this movie will be blatantly obvious.
Many details about the movie have yet to be released, as it isn’t set to release until June 17. As long as the production does not seem to dig itself into a bigger hole, fans will continue to be excited about it. The question of accuracy will draw scholars to the box office, no doubt, but we will have no idea what it entails until it is released.
Neither movie has been released, so it is impossible to say how accurate they will be until in theaters. Fans of both hope that the directors and actors will portray their favorite historical icons as they should be portrayed, but it is up to the entire production team as to how they are portrayed on the screen.
Scholars of Brontë and Homer will be patiently waiting in their seats to take notes on what is not correct. Hopefully, they will have nothing to be upset about, but the preliminary leaks are not looking great.
