Reboots on classic franchises are all the rage these days. One of the most exciting reboots coming in the near future is the new Netflix Addams Family series Wednesday which sees Scream star Jenna Ortega take on the iconic title role. The series will also see the return of previous franchise star Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday Addams in the '90s film duology—her role in the Netflix series remains unknown. Recently when talking to Variety, Ricci had nothing but praise for Ortega’s more adult take on the character.
“It’s super fun. I loved working with Tim [Burton]. I worked with Gwendolyn Christie, it was amazing. And Jenna is incredible,” Ricci said, and she continued by saying, “I saw some of the wardrobe photos before I went [to set] so I knew [what she looked like in character] and I was like, it’s such a great modern take on Wednesday.” Ricci finished by hyping up the series saying, “It’s so true tonally to the heart and soul of [the original], but it’s then it’s incredibly modern and it’s great.”
The Addams Family is one of those iconic franchises that anyone could recognize just by looking at an image of this gleefully morbid family. At the dead fleshy heart of that is Wednesday and Ricci’s take on the character was a huge part in making The Addams Family and Addams Family Values so memorable for fans of the series. Ricci has gone on to have a great career which has included films like Casper, Speed Racer, and Wes Craven’s Cursed. She has also recently starred in the hit horror series Yellowjackets which is currently gearing up for its second season. However, no matter what, Ricci will always be synonymous with Wednesday, and it’s a great feeling knowing that she’ll be a part of this new series.
It will also just warm any horror lover's heart to hear her praise of Ortega. Ortega has been a genre megastar as of late starring in films like The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Studio 666, X, and this year’s Scream sequel. The actress is currently getting ready to face off against Ghostface again as Ortega is starting production on Scream 6 very soon. We can't wait to see her take on this spooky character in the upcoming Netflix series — especially given that Tim Burton is behind the camera. If there was ever a pitch-perfect casting it’s Ortega as Wednesday Addams. The teaser that Netflix dropped this past week giving fans the first look at the actress in full costume proves that. Ortega has a great emotional range and her recent contributions to the horror genre have been spectacular.
Wednesday arrives on Netflix in late 2022. The series stars Ortega, Ricci, Christie, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Wednesday’s younger brother Pugsley.
You can also read the official synopsis for Wednesday down below.
Based on the character originally created by Charles Addams, “Wednesday” is a young adult TV series described as a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. She attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.