Netflix has announced some members of the cast of their highly anticipated series Wednesday, based on the teenage character Wednesday Addams.
The character originated on the television and movie series The Addams Family.
Wednesday is a live-action series with eight episodes, directed by famed moviemaker and artist Tim Burton.
Burton is popular for his gothic fantasy work in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and the musical-to-movie adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Netflix announced Jenna Ortega will play the title character Wednesday Addams.
Ortega recently starred as Katie Torres in the Netflix family comedy Yes Day. Other major Netflix roles include voicing Brooklynn in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and playing Ellie in You.
Ortega talks Wednesday
Many notable actors played the role of Wednesday Addams.
Hispanic actor Ortega is soon to be joining the list. Christina Ricci, Chloë Grace Moretz, and voice actor Debi Derryberry popularized the character.
Ortega shared an image of her holding a script from the series on her Instagram account. She wrote, “New chapter. Hope I can do Wednesday Addams justice.”
Her Yes Day costar Julian Lerner shared his excitement, commenting, “Jenna! That’s so cool!”
One fan commented underneath Netflix’s Twitter announcement for Ortega’s casting.
“She got big shoes to fill and I’m rooting for her.”
What is Wednesday about?
The series’ creative team and horror fans don’t seem worried about this upcoming series. Many feel comforted the director is Tim Burton, the aficionado of all things creepy.
In February, Netflix Director of Original Series Teddy Biaselli shared a press release:
“As Wednesday stans, my team and I feel an inherent responsibility to get this truly one-of-a-kind character right for both old fans and new. We’re confident this talented group will do her justice as she prepares for the dreaded underworld known as adulthood. “
While the movie doesn’t have an official release date yet and supposedly hasn’t even started filming, Netflix shared some details.
The streaming platform writes, “The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy.”
“Wednesday’s 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.”
Netflix describes Wednesday as a mystery and comedy series.
Wednesday is expected to premiere on Netflix.