Wuthering Heights Director Emerald Fenell Tipped To Direct Basic Instinct Reboot

It looks like we know what Emerald Fennell is cooking up as her next project to follow Wuthering Heights.

The British filmmaker is currently in talks to helm a reboot of Basic Instinct, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas teased during a new interview with The Guardian.

Joe – who penned the script of the original Basic Instinct, as well as the likes of Flashdance and Showgirls – explained he’s almost done with writing a new spin on the original 1992 erotic romance.

He claimed: “The producers are negotiating with a really interesting director – a Brit, Emerald Fennell – who did Promising Young Woman and Wuthering Heights.”

“Her sensibility is exactly right,” Joe continued. “She’s someone who is not afraid of controversy and sexuality. So I’m thrilled by that. I hope it works out.”

After working both behind and in front of the camera on screen, Emerald made her feature-length directing debut in 2020 with Promising Young Woman, which was nominated for five Oscars and won one in the Best Original Screenplay category.

She followed this with Saltburn, a dark comedy thriller set in the mid-2000s, which got everyone talking thanks to its many twists and rather graphic sex scenes upon its release in late 2023.

The original Basic Instinct was a box office smash upon its release, with Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in its lead roles.

A much-panned sequel eventually followed in 2006, winning Worst Picture and Worst Actress at that year’s Razzies.

Sharon dismissed the suggestion of a Basic Instinct reboot last year, claiming: “I hate to break it to you, but Joe Eszterhas couldn’t write himself out of a Walgreens drug store.”