Tim Burton has found his Wednesday Addams in Jenna Ortega (Jane the Virgin). As previously reported, theBeetlejuiceandEdward Scissorhandsdirector has been tapped by Netflix to develop a reboot ofThe Addams Family. TitledWednesdaythe new series will specifically follow an older Wednesday as a student at Nevermore Academy, though the other kooky members of the Addams family are bound to show up.
Wednesdayis described as a coming-of-age comedy and a “sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery” that chronicles Wednesday’s days at college. Per Deadline, that’s where the popularAddams Familymember “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.
Prior to her casting,Jenna Ortegawas one of the names that was rumored to be up for the role. Along with her role as Young Jane onJane the Virgin, Ortega is also known for her roles as Harley Diaz on the Disney Channel seriesStuck in the Middleand Ellie Alves on the Netflix thriller seriesYou. Also appearing inInsidious: Chapter 2and along with the upcoming slasher sequelScream 5, the 18-year-old actress is also quickly becoming a staple of the horror genre.
Ortega is the first name that’s been officially announced as a part of the cast, so it remains to be seen who will play the other Addams family members. There’s been a lot of speculation over the role of Gomez Addams in particular, with Johnny Depp often coming up as a strong possibility given his relationship with Tim Burton. Some fans also would have wanted to see his daughterLily-Rose Depp as Wednesdayif Depp was cast as Gomez. Rami Malek and Oscar Isaac areFamilytwo other popular contenders with fans.
Wednesday Addams was famously played by Christina Ricci in the original live-actionAddams Familymovies in the 1990s. There have been unconfirmed rumors that Ricci would be brought in toWednesdayto playMorticia Addams, which would be an interesting full-circle moment for the actress. If Depp had been cast as Gomez, then Ricci’s casting would serve as another big reunion, as Depp and Ricci previously co-starred in Burton’s movieSleepy Hollow.
The Addamswill continue to move forward with its series of animated movies as well. After the first animated movie was released in 2019 to great success at the box office, the family will be back in a sequel this year withThe Addams Family 2set to bow on Aug 21, 2025. The movies feature the voice of Oscar Isaac, one of the actors people want to see play Gomez in a live-action project as well.
MGM Television is producingWednesdaywithSmallvillecreators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar serving as the writers and showrunners.Tim Burton is directing, with the project marking his first-ever stint directing a TV series. Burton executive produces with Gough, Millar, Kayla Alpert, Steve Shark, and several producers associated with theAddams FamilyIP: Andrew Mittman, Kevin Miserocchi, Jonathan Glickman, and Gail Berman. A release date hasn’t yet been set at Netflix, but we can’t be too far off from production with the cast now starting to take shape. This news comes to us fromDeadline.
