Australian star Margot Robbie is doing it again, dialling up the steamy as she and co-star Jacob Elordi head out on the promo trail for Wuthering Heights.

Robbie, 35, and Elordi, 28, share the screen in Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Emily Bronte’s novel, which follows the passionate relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff.

At the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday, Robbie evoked memories of her “Barbie-core” era from the promotional trail for the 2023 cinematic hit.

For the event at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, her method dressing led to a striking Gothic ensemble. Robbie donned a Schiaparelli gown with a nude lace corset bodice with floral detailing. It had a flowing black skirt which faded into a deep red hemline.

She paired the outfit with custom-made Lorraine Schwartz diamond earrings and a large, heart-shaped necklace – since confirmed by the estate of 1950s Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor as one of the most significant pieces in her collection, her Taj Mahal diamond Cartier necklace.

The necklace dates back to 16th century India and was given to Taylor for her 40th birthday in 1972 by her husband, Welsh actor Richard Burton.

On the red carpet, Robbie smiled and held hands with Elordi – who was dressed in an all-black suit and black shoes.

It was just the latest outing in an apparently intimate promotional trail for Wuthering Heights – which has sparked chatter of the surprising “showmance” between the Aussie co-stars.

Elordi has described their relationship as a “mutual obsession”. He even filled Robbie’s room with roses on Valentine’s Day, leaving her to muse “Oh, he’s probably a very good boyfriend”.

For her part, Robbie has revealed feeling unsettled when Elordi wasn’t on set – amid reports he would stand in a corner, just metres away, as she filmed.

“I found myself starting to look around to see where he was. I was really unnerved and unmoored. And I felt quite lost, like a kid without their blanket or something,” she told Fandango.

Elordi said the two stars really became one with their roles.

“There’d be a moment where we’d be running hand in hand through the moors, maybe not even in the scene, just setting it up, where I’d look across at her and she’d be looking at me and you really realised you were looking at Catherine and she was looking at Heathcliff,” he said.

“In that moment, we really were a part of their love, for real. There were a few moments like that.”

The pair apparently even have matching rings decorated with two hugging skeletons and the phrase “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” – a line from the novel.

Elsewhere, Robbie has previously told People magazine that preparing for the movie’s numerous romantic scenes was “no different to all the other scenes that we do”.

“The movie kind of demands a lot of all of us,” she said.

“My character essentially cries in every single scene, but no, it was a joy. I loved playing a character who kind of swings from one wild emotion to the other in an instant.”

Given Wuthering Heights centres on the tempestuous, destructive bond between Heathcliff and Cathy, it has some fans a bit sceptical.

“The ‘we actually sort of fell in love’ thing is in so many movies the past few years. What is up with that?” one user wrote – perhaps recalling the are-they-aren’t-they speculation of last year’s Naked Gun promotion between Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson.

“Oh, it’s going to be that kind of promotion cycle. I don’t think we should have expected anything less,” another fan wrote.

Perhaps that person was remembering the apparent close friendship between Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande during tours for the Wicked movies. That even extended to Erivo leaping to Grande’s rescue as a deluded fan ambushed her on the red carpet in Singapore in November.

It all prompted The Guardian to ask how far Robbie and Elordi will “take their Wuthering Heights showmance”.

“We’ve had declarations of obsession, we’ve had notification of their matching rings … can someone please throw some cold water over this press tour love-fest?” wrote Stuart Heritage.

He was among those to point out that Robbie, as well as starring in the upcoming movie, is a producer with her husband, Tom Ackerley, through their production company Lucky Chap Entertainment — meaning she is more than the face of the campaign, she’s one of its architects. And she has a vested interest in the movie’s success.

The film will be released in cinemas across Australia on February 12.

-with AAP