Tim Burton “Can’t Imagine Any Other Wednesday” Addams Than Jenna Ortega

Earlier this month, the first trailer for Wednesday was released. The upcoming Netflix series is being helmed by legendary director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Batman) and is expected to be a fun, new twist on the Addams Family. Wednesday is being played by Scream and X star, Jenna Ortega, and fans are hyped to see her take on the role. In a new Netflix featurette, Burton praised Ortega and spoke about how she is perfect for the part.

“She’s like a silent movie actress in the sense where she’s able to convey things without words,” Burton explained. “To see the inner life and the subtleties was very exciting. And that’s why we’re very lucky to have Jenna because I can’t imagine any other Wednesday.” You can check out the full featurette below:

Ortega has some big shoes to fill with big names like Christina Ricci having played Wednesday Addams in the past.

“We’ve never seen her as a teenager girl,” Ortega previously explained. “You know, it’s funny and sweet and almost charming to hear this eight-year-old’s obsession with murder and blood and guts. As she gets older, that nasty attitude or [those] biting remarks, it’s almost kind of hard not to make it sound like every other teenager girl So, it’s like how do we establish this character and give her the same fire without letting her become something that she’s not? Also, it’s an eight-hour series so, for an emotionless character, there has to be some sort of an emotional arc.” 

In addition to Ortega, Wednesday stars Academy Award-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago) as Morticia Adams, Luis Guzmán (Code Black) as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez (A Wrinkle in Time) as Pugsley, George Burcea (Comrade Detective) as Lurch, and Victor Dorobantu as Thing. The series will also feature Gwendoline Christie as Principal Larissa Weems, Jamie McShane as Sheriff Galpin, Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe, Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin, Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay, Naomi J. Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka, Moosala Mostafa as Eugene Ottinger, Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolis, Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valerie Kinbott, and Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill.

Are you excited to see Jenna Ortega tackle the titular role in Wednesday? Tell us your thoughts in the comments! 

Wednesday is expected to debut on Netflix this fall.