Addams Family: Original Director Has No Interest in Returning to Franchise

Fans first met the Addams Family in a comic strip and earned even more attention thanks to The Addams Family TV show, with director Barry Sonnenfeld giving the family the big-screen treatment in two live-action films in the early ’90s. The characters have earned a resurgence in recent years and, despite that newfound attention, Sonnenfeld has no interest in returning to the franchise in any capacity. He did, however, reveal that with this year marking the 30th anniversary of his first film, The Addams Family is getting a new 4K Ultra HD release which will restore an extended version of one sequence that was cut nearly in half for the theatrical release. His next project, the TV series Schmigadoon!, premieres on Apple TV+ on July 16th.

“I did my two films on Addams Family, I did my three films on Men in Black, and I got some other things that I wanna do,” Sonnenfeld shared with ComicBook.com about returning to his beloved franchises. “We are working on a reissue in 4K, the original Addams Family. We’re putting back the entire ‘mamushka.’ There was the big song and dance number in the middle, written by Adolph Green and Marc Shaiman and Betty Comden. We had cut it in half and we’re restoring the full-length version, so that’s exciting.”

Following the success of his two films, the family earned an animated series in the early ’90s as well as the direct-to-video Addams Family Reunion in 1998. After years of the franchise being dormant, it returned in 2019 with the animated The Addams Family, which resulted in the announcement of a sequel. Additionally, Netflix is developing the new series Wednesday, based on the family’s famous daughter.

Schmigadoon!, a parody of iconic Golden Age musicals, stars Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as a couple on a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship who discover a magical town living in a 1940s musical. They then learn that they can’t leave until they find “true love.” The first season stars Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong, Dove Cameron, Aaron Tveit, Ariana DeBose, Fred Armisen, Jaime Camil, Jane Krakowski, and Ann Harada. Martin Short guest stars.

Given his previous projects, this new musical might not seem like the most expected fit for Sonnenfeld, though he revealed there was one key thing all of the projects he’s interested in have in common.

“One of the things I really like to do, if you look at the body of my work, is world creating. Whether it’s Wild Wild West, Addams Family, Pushing Daisies, A Series of Unfortunate Events, or Men in Black, there’s always a quirkiness to everything I do,” Sonnenfeld pointed out. “And, also, an otherworldly, even if it’s real-world based … you won’t see me directing a new legal drama. I wouldn’t know where to put the camera or what to do. The great thing about Schmigadaoon! is it lets me continue in that world. Oh, The Tick, the original The Tick with Patrick Warburton, is another one.”

He continued, “In most of those cases, I worked with Bo Welch, who’s a production designer. He read the scripts and loved them, my wife read the scripts and loved them. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I get to create another world that’s gotta be reality-based, even though there’s singing and dancing, if they start winking at the camera and saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t real,’ then you’re dead. The audience has to believe that [the characters] believe this is reality, but on the other hand, for the same reasons I like reality-based things, I am not a musical-theater lover. I never sought out watching Carousel on TCM or anything like that. That was my challenge, but I came to love the experience.”

Stay tuned for details on the future of The Addams Family. Schmigadoon! premieres on Apple TV+ on July 16th.

Would you like to see Sonnenfeld return to The Addams Family? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars.