Tim Burton Casts Jenna Ortega as the Lead in His Addams Family Series WEDNESDAY
A few months ago we learned that Tim Burton was developing a live-action series inspired by The Adams Family titled Wednesday for Netflix, and it will focus on the character Wednesday Addams.
Fans have been wondering who would end up being cast in the title role and now we know. Jenna Ortega (You, Richie Rich, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous) will be taking on the role of Wednesday Addams. I’m not really that familiar with her work, but this is certainly an exciting lead role for her. She will next be seen in the upcoming Scream movie.
The series is a coming-of-age comedy about “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.”
The eight-episode series was written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, and Burton will direct. All three of them will also serve as showrunners on the series and executive produce. When previously talking about the series, Teddy Biaselli, Netflix’s Director Original Series said:
“When we first heard Al Gough and Miles Millar’s pitch for Wednesday we were struck, like an arrow from a crossbow, right in our hearts. They nailed the tone, the spirit and the characters, but gave us a fresh way into this story. We then got the call that visionary director and lifelong Addams Family fan Tim Burton wanted to make his television directorial debut with this series. Tim has had a history of telling empowering stories about social outsiders like Edward Scissorhands, Lydia Deitz, and Batman. And now he brings his unique vision to Wednesday and her spooky classmates at Nevermore Academy.”
I’m curious to see how this series turns out. I really hope Burton leans into the kind of tone and style from his earlier film work for this one.
Source: Variety