Jenna Ortega Reveals Changes For Wednesday In Addams Family Spinoff
Jenna Ortega was cast to play the role of Wednesday, and has undergone a lot of changes to make sure she portrays the iconic role to the best of her ability.
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Jenna Ortega, a rising star in the film and television industry, has taken on the iconic role of Wednesday Addams. The Addams Family was a television show that started in 1964, followed by a Hollywood film of the same name in 1991 and The Addams Family Values in 1993. Many know the famous theme song from the original series and the beloved characters, from Morticia and Gomez Addams, to their daughter, Wednesday Addams. Set to be released later in 2022, Netflix is working with director Tim Burton to release a television series titled Wednesday. Jenna Ortega was cast to play the role of Wednesday, and has undergone a lot of changes to make sure she portrays the iconic role to the best of her ability.
In her efforts to bring the character to life, she recently shared her struggles as she develops a teenage Wednesday Addams, something audiences have never seen before. Jenna Ortega told The Hollywood Reporter, “We’ve never seen Wednesday Addams as a teenage girl, so some of her harsh mannerisms may come off as hilarious when she’s younger, but as you get older, how much of that can you get away with? Or how do you keep that at the forefront of her personality without people growing to dislike her or find her annoying? So just trying to balance that …”
Finding the right balance sounds like a big focus for Jenna Ortega. In the new Tim Burton series, Wednesday will be attending Nevermore Academy, bringing the legendary franchise into new ground. According to MovieWeb, Ortega feels that there is a lot of pressure in portraying the character at a different point in her life. But although there might be an age gap from the original character, there is a lot of belief in Ortega’s talent.
According to USA Today, director Ti West, who had cast her earlier in his horror film, X, stated that the actress has a love for horror and darker characters. West stated, “Jenna loves horror – which is a bonus when setting out to make a horror film – but she never became self-aware of acting as if she was in one.” With Ortega’s experience with working on films and shows with darker elements, it seems the role of Wednesday Addams was written for her.
While speaking about the role of Wednesday Addams, Jenna Ortega shared that she had to alter her appearance in order to look like the character. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ortega discussed the many steps she had to take to become Wednesday. “I think it’s probably the most physical transformation I’ve ever done; I cut my hair, and it’s black, and mannerism-wise, speaking cadence-wise, expression-wise, I’m trying to pull from a different toolbox this time around.” The character of Wednesday is known for her quick wit and brooding demeanor, and Ortega is more than ready.
Fans of horror have probably already spotted Jenna Ortega in the film, Scream, which was recently released in theaters. The film overall has excellent reviews, and within only the first four days of its release, the box office brought in a whopping $36 million. There are even talks about creating another film to add to the Scream franchise. The actress has also made appearances in other horror movies, such as Insidious: Chapter 2.
Jenna Ortega has been on the acting scene for quite some time, and has taken on various different roles. Her passion for really understanding the characters and her willingness to undergo big changes in order to properly portray an iconic role such as Wednesday Addams is a good sign for the show. There is no exact release date as of yet, but sometime later in the year, we will all be able to see The Addams Family return with Wednesday on Netflix.
