Muddy Stilettos


<p>Dog-eared, underlined and once revised in a mild panic the night before an exam, if you thought you’d left <em>set texts</em> behind with your school blazer, think again. The novels that fuelled GCSE essays and A-level angst are enjoying something of a screen renaissance.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PridePrejudice_Image_FirstGlimpse_Image_1.jpg" alt="Dolly Alderton first look Pride &amp; Prejudice" class="wp-image-133361" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PridePrejudice_Image_FirstGlimpse_Image_1.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PridePrejudice_Image_FirstGlimpse_Image_1-600x338.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PridePrejudice_Image_FirstGlimpse_Image_1-1000x563.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PridePrejudice_Image_FirstGlimpse_Image_1-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /></figure>



<p>There’s fresh heat on the moors with Emerald Fennell’s raunchy take on <em>Wuthering Heights</em>, while Jane Austen’s ever-bankable brilliance continues to inspire glossy reimaginings for a new generation with not one, but two A-list adaptations landing later this year. </p>



<p>Even Homer’s epic <em>The Odyssey</em> &#8211; once parsed line by line under fluorescent classroom lights – is soon to return to cinematic form, proving that gods, monsters, and heroic homecomings are always great fodder for film. Here’s the lowdown on the curriculum classics getting the big-screen treatment (and why, this time around, you’ll actually want to do the homework).</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wuthering-heights-in-cinemas-now"><em>Wuthering Heights</em>, in cinemas now</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="&quot;Wuthering Heights&quot; | Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3fLCdIYShEQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Emily Brontë’s tale of love, revenge, and stormy moors has been analysed in classrooms for generations &#8211; now Emerald Fennell gives it a modern, binge-worthy twist that makes the centuries-old drama feel thrillingly immediate. Throw in two Hollywood heartthrobs, Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, as Heathcliff and Catherine, a blistering original soundtrack from Charli XCX, swoon-worthy cinematography, plus costumes and set design to die for, and we’re tearing our way through&nbsp;<em>Wuthering Heights</em>&nbsp;all over again.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lord-of-the-flies-bbc-iplayer-out-now"><em>Lord of the Flies</em>, BBC iPlayer, out now</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Lord of the Flies | Official trailer - BBC" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Q9SQ7hTMdg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Move over <em>Adolescence</em>, Jack Thorne is back with another big, buzzy must-watch – this time tackling William Golding’s<strong><em> Lord of the Flie</em></strong>s. Alongside director Marc Munden, he brings the school-curriculum staple to television for the first time, turning it into a dark, urgent four-parter that feels unnervingly current. Stranded schoolboys, no adults, and a rapidly crumbling sense of order spiral into power struggles, violence, and the slow erosion of innocence. Each episode centres on a different boy &#8211; Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and Jack &#8211; offering shifting perspectives on the same descent into chaos. Intelligent, unsettling, and destined for post-episode group chats.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-odyssey-fri-17-jul"><em>The Odyssey,</em> Fri 17 Jul</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Odyssey | Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mzw2ttJD2qQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron &#8211; if you want star wattage, <strong><em>The Odyssey</em></strong> has it in Olympian proportions. Christopher Nolan heads to ancient Greece for a sweeping, high-stakes retelling of Homer’s epic, with Damon as the battle-weary Odysseus fighting his way home after the Trojan War. Sirens, shipwrecks, monsters and meddling gods all get the full blockbuster treatment. With Nolan at the helm and a cast this stacked, this is one heroic homecoming that’s firmly destined for the big screen, and not just the classroom.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sense-amp-sensibility-fri-11-sep"><em>Sense &amp; Sensibility</em>, Fri 11 Sep</h2>



<p>Long before it became peak Sunday-afternoon comfort viewing, <strong><em>Sense &amp; Sensibility</em></strong> was a classroom constant, dissected for its marriage markets, manners, and moral restraint. Now Jane Austen’s tale of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, is getting another glossy big-screen outing later this year. Daisy Edgar-Jones steps into sensible Elinor’s shoes, with <em>Blue Jean </em>director Georgia Oakley at the helm and bestselling author Diana Reid on screenplay duties. With that pedigree, this fresh take could well rival Ang Lee’s beloved 1995 adaptation &#8211; corsets and copies at the ready.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pride-amp-prejudice-netflix-date-tbc"><em>Pride &amp; Prejudice</em>, Netflix, date TBC</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Pride and Prejudice | Official Teaser | Netflix" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4bSKM9WWT08?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>If <strong><em>Pride &amp; Prejudice </em></strong>was your go-to exam text (or the one you bluffed your way through), prepare for more Regency-core revival. Dolly Alderton is reimagining Jane Austen’s sharpest social satire over six delicious episodes, bringing fresh fizz to the tale of manners, mischief, and slow-burn romance. Emma Corrin leads a stellar cast – hello Olivia Colman, Jack Lowden, Rufus Sewell, Rhea Norwood, Jamie Demetriou, and Fiona Shaw. And though newly-released teaser has already sparked mixed reactions, one thing’s certain: Darcy discourse is back. Amen to that. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hamlet-coming-soon-to-sky-store"><em>Hamlet</em>, coming soon to Sky Store</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Official Trailer HAMLET (2025, Riz Ahmed, Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn, Art Malik)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4TRJy_gHmUc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>To be, or not to be? If <em><strong>Hamlet </strong></em>was the Shakespeare play that haunted your mock exams, it’s about to feel startlingly new. Director Aneil Karia relocates the Bard’s most enduring tragedy to present-day London’s South Asian community, injecting urgent contemporary energy into a story of grief, revenge, and moral paralysis &#8211; kind of like what Baz Luhrmann did to <em>Romeo &amp; Juliet</em> back in the Nineties. Riz Ahmed anchors the drama with a fierce, magnetic performance in the title role, bringing fresh nuance to the tortured prince. Bold, brilliant, and unapologetically modern.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-age-of-innocence-date-tbc"><em>The Age of Innocence</em>, date TBC</h2>



<p>Edith Wharton’s&nbsp;tale of love, duty, and societal expectation is getting another sumptuous screen makeover this year. Filming in Prague, Emma Frost (<em>The White Queen</em>) and Shannon Murphy (<em>Babyteeth</em>) bring Gilded Age New York vividly to life, with Ben Radcliffe as Newland Archer, Camila Morrone as scandal-struck Ellen Olenska, Kristine Froseth as May Welland, and Margo Martindale as Mrs Manson-Mingott. Traversing ballrooms, parlours, and bedrooms, this heartrending love triangle asks the eternal question: hearts or heads? True to Wharton but cinematic and irresistible, it’s a classic reimagined for a new generation.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



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Back to school: The curriculum classics storming the big screen

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