Wuthering Heights’ Emerald Fennell Denies Basic Instinct Reboot Rumours

Oscar-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell has denied reports that she is in talks to direct a new reboot of the erotic thriller Basic Instinct.

Earlier this week, the Saltburn and Wuthering Heights director was said to be in negotiations to helm the new project, following comments made by its screenwriter, Joe Eszterhas.

However, as his claims became more widespread, a spokesperson for Emerald was quick to shoot down the rumours.

In a statement to HuffPost UK, her representative said: “There’s no truth in this. She is not involved in any way.”

Production company Amazon MGM Studios also called the reports “categorically false”.

During an interview with The Guardian published on Tuesday, Joe – who also wrote the scripts for Showgirls and Flashdance – claimed that he was almost done with penning his new version of Basic Instinct.

He alleged: “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. She’s someone who is not afraid of controversy and sexuality. So I’m thrilled by that. I hope it works out.”

After starting her career in front of the camera in projects like Call The Midwife and The Crown, Emerald made her feature-length directorial debut in 2020 with Promising Young Woman.

The movie went on to be nominated for five Oscars – including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan – and won one in the Best Original Screenplay category.

Her next film, Saltburn, generated even more conversation thanks to its dramatic twists, graphic sex scenes and performances from the likes of Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike.

More recently, she put her own spin on the classic gothic romance Wuthering Heights, which proved to be the most divisive film of her career, mostly down to the many deviations she took from Emily Brontë’s original novel and controversy surrounding the casting of Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as her Heathcliff and Cathy.