WEDNESDAY Season 2 is Inspired By Edgar Allan Poe's THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega has revealed that the upcoming second season of the series is directly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's classic story, The Masque of the Red Death.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, she cited the 1964 film adaptation of Poe's 1942 work, starring Vincent Price, saying: "I think the feel that we're going for is a little bit more horror-inspired. Not to say that suddenly we're the goriest show of all time. I mean, there [are] six-year-olds watching."
Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are going to be leaning into horror tropes more this season, and Ortega goes on to tease: “We’re doing this thing now where Wednesday just kind of appears. She is a little bit of a jump scare herself.”
The series is described as “a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy.” The series follows…
“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.”
When previously talking about what we can expect from Season 2, Ortega said: “We’re definitely leaning into a little bit more horror but it’s really, really exciting because all throughout the show, while Wednesday does need a little bit of an arc, she never really changes and that’s the wonderful thing about her.”
She continued: “There’s really, really good one-liners, and I think everything’s bigger, it’s a lot more action-packed. Each episode will probably feel a little bit more like a movie, which is nice.”
The Masque of the Red Death is a gothic short story about a wealthy prince named Prospero who, in an attempt to escape a deadly plague known as the Red Death, secludes himself in an opulent, fortified abbey with a thousand other nobles.
They indulge in lavish festivities, ignoring the suffering outside. During a masked ball, a mysterious figure dressed as the Red Death appears, moving through the different colored rooms of the abbey. The figure's presence terrifies the guests, and when Prospero confronts it, he falls dead.
The other revelers attempt to seize the figure, only to find that there is nothing tangible beneath the mask and robes. One by one, they all succumb to the Red Death, symbolizing the inevitability of death and the futility of trying to escape it.
The series also sees the return of Luis Guzmán returning as Gomez Addams and Catherine Zeta-Jones back as Morticia Addams.
The Season 2 cast also includes Joy Sunday as Bianca, Joanna Lumley as Grandmama, Emma Myers as Enid, Steve Buscemi as Barry Dort, Billie Piper as Capri, and Thandiwe Newton as Dr. Fairburn, along with Hunter Doohan, Victor Dorobantu, Moosa Mostafa, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Georgie Farmer, Isaac Ordonez, Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, and Noah Taylor.
Additionally, guest stars for Season 2 include Jamie McShane, Frances O’Connor, Haley Joel Osment, Heather Matarazzo, Joonas Suotamo, Fred Armisen, and Christopher Lloyd.