Netflix Reveals First Look at Jenna Ortega in Tim Burton’s ‘Wednesday’

Meet the new Wednesday Addams. It has been well known that Jenna Ortega (X, Scream, Studio 666) would be starring in a live-action reimagining of The Addams Family for Netflix, dubbed Wednesday. As it’s for an ongoing series, it also marks the directorial debut of Tim Burton, who’s in the director’s chair. It was written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

Family life is killing me. Time to lose the dead weight. pic.twitter.com/NlkAH8YVSO

— Wednesday Addams (@wednesdayaddams) June 6, 2022

The show is a coming-of-age “supernatural mystery comedy” that imagines Wednesday Addams pursuing her studies at Nevermore Academy while attempting to master her psychic powers. She’ll also be delving into a 25-year-old mystery that has been affecting the Addamses while simultaneously navigating relationships with her classmates and the academy staff.

Catherine Zeta-Jones also stars in the series as Morticia Addams, and other included family members include Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, George Burcea as Lurch, and Luis Guzman as Gomez. The cast also includes Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Thora Birch, Hunter Doohan, Percy Hynes White, and Gwendoline Christie. Christina Ricci, who famously played Wednesday Addams in the original live-action movies, is also featured in a mystery role for the series, but no, it won’t be as an older version of Wednesday in flash-forward scenes.

“It’s been quite an insane experience,” Jenna Ortega has said of working on Wednesday via THR. “I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with and also the most detail-oriented. To step into the shoes of somebody who’s a bit more eccentric and frightening has been really exciting for me, and definitely a challenge — especially with such a beloved character, I really want to take care of her and do her justice.”

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She added, “The thing is, there are several different paths that anyone could have taken for this character. We’ve never seen Wednesday Addams as a teenage girl, so some of her harsh mannerisms may come off as hilarious when she’s younger, but as you get older, how much of that can you get away with? Or how do you keep that at the forefront of her personality without people growing to dislike her or find her annoying? So just trying to balance that … I’ve never felt so much pressure on a job, and I’m trying to keep my cool.”

Wednesday will start streaming on Netflix this fall, with an official release date soon to be announced.