Jenna Ortega attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix.
According to Jeff Sneider, Ortega is seriously considering a lead role in the new movie, which would continue the story of Burton’s 1988 film, with Michael Keaton also aiming to return as the title character, a mischievous spirit who looks to help ghosts exorcise the living from their homes.
What’s the story so far for the ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel?
Though the original is a popular movie and a favorite from the director’s resume for plenty of people, it has been a long road to screens for the follow-up, which is still not 100% locked down.
The earliest reports of a sequel sprang up in 1990, with word of a movie called ‘Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian’, with Jonathan Gems coming up with a concept that blended the circus goth vibe of the character with a beach movie. But Burton’s involvement with the ‘Batman‘ universe sank forward movement on that front, but that wasn’t the end of the potential movie.
In the years that followed, the likes of Kevin Smith, Seth Grahame-Smith and most recently Mike Vukadinovich taking a crack at a script, but nothing that sparked Burton’s interest enough to commit to return to the world of the character.
This Ortega development shows real potential, though, as the actress, who is in demand following last year’s one-two punch of ‘Scream’ and ‘Wednesday’ could help the movie finally get made.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the production is aiming for a late May or early June start of shooting in London, but while we’re sure Warner Bros. would want to get this one moving at last, there is no budget set and neither Burton, Keaton nor Ortega are officially committed. It is, at least, the most positive step forward in a long time.
“It’s been quite an insane experience. I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with, and also the most detail-oriented.”
Right now, the idea is that Ortega would be the daughter of Lydia (Winona Ryder in the original, who may return for the new movie) but otherwise the story is a mystery.
As for Ortega on the big screen, she’s reprising the role of Tara Carpenter in ‘Scream VI’, which slashes into theaters on March 10th.
(L to R) Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’
That gives Prime Video streaming service the rights to show pretty much everything that MGM has produced, and since that includes Addams Family content (the recent animated movies, for example were produced by MGM), it was speculated that ‘Wednesday’ could follow.
But, as Indiewire is now pointing out, the deal for ‘Wednesday’ was struck some time before the sale of MGM was approved, so it’s more than likely that Netflix will be holding on to the show for the foreseeable future, especially since it continues to be one of its most-watched series.
Plus, there’s a mention that Amazon has been willing to explore hosting content that isn’t exclusive to Prime Video, which means that ‘Wednesday’ could continue to find a home on Netflix’s servers for years to come, even if it does one day pack its dark-colored bags and make the move to Prime in later years.
The series, which stars Jenna Ortega as the daughter of Gomez (Luis Guzman) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), sees Wednesday headed to Nevermore Academy after being expelled from more regular schools because of her behavior.
There, despite still feeling like an outsider, she’s actually able to make connections with fellow students (on both the friendship and unlikely romantic front), while also confronting a supernatural mystery and her own burgeoning psychic powers.
It has since become a huge hit for the streaming service, its second week drawing 5.3 billion views and topping the Nielsen US streaming chart. It has also generated plenty of viral content, especially Tik Toks recreating the character’s dance moves.
While Netflix has yet to renew the show, there are reports that creators/show-runners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are already scouting locations, with plans in place for Season 2. And it’s not like the streaming service has a history of cancelling popular series it talks up and then abandons. Though the creators of ‘1899’ might have something to say about that. And ‘The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself’. And ‘Warrior Nun’. And…
Look, while Netflix has been winning few friends among creators for clearing the decks of shows it considers unsuccessful despite big fan campaigns to save them, ‘Wednesday’ is in a whole other league. It’s a genuine sensation, up there with the likes of ‘Stranger Things’ for the company. So don’t go worrying that Wednesday’s child will leave you full of woe and leave its streaming home for now.
UPDATE: The streaming service has now officially renewed the show, including a statement from creators Gough and Millar: “It’s been incredible to create a show that has connected with people across the world. Thrilled to continue Wednesday’s tortuous journey into season two. We can’t wait to dive headfirst into another season and explore the kooky spooky world of Nevermore. Just need to make sure Wednesday hasn’t emptied the pool first.”
Now showing on Netflix, ‘Wednesday’ represents the latest attempt to bring ‘The Addams Family’ to screens, and one that succeeds partly because of its star.
The Addams Family, which originated with Charles Addams’ single-panel cartoons and strips in the 1930s and 1940s, have long since been adapted in different formats, including TV series, a successful pair of movies and animated films.
Now comes ‘Wednesday’, which, rather than featuring the entire family (though they’re there at the start and in a key episode midway through), focuses instead on their eldest child.
Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday, here presented in traditionally dark clothing and darker moods, more likely to be found studying autopsies that on social media like her classmates.
(L to R) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday.’
As the show opens, she’s been kicked out of her latest school for punishing the water polo bullies who picked on her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) by releasing piranhas in their pool.
Despairing of finding a place where she might actually fit in, her parents––stylish, vampy Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and squat, smooth Gomez (Luis Guzmán)––sign her up for Nevermore Academy, where they studied.
It’s seemingly perfect for her: a place for outcasts, creatures (such as werewolves and sirens) and those who society considers unusual to flourish with their peers. Yet even here, Wednesday feels like an outsider, initially unwilling to engage with the usual school activities outside of attending class.
Her roommate, Enid (Emma Myers), a werewolf with her own family issues, is perky and friendly, and at first gets on Wednesday’s last nerve. Then there’s Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie), a former classmate of Morticia and Gomez, who still bears a grudge against them for some mysterious reason (it won’t surprise you that this gets explored during the season).
As she tries to make the best of it, slowly forming an unexpected social circle that shifts and warps in relatively traditional young adult fictional ways, Wednesday copes with the help of family aide Thing, a disembodied hand (played, with an effects assist, by Victor Dorobantu) bursting with personality who can say more with the flick of a finger than some can with a monologue.
And Nevermore has its own challenges beyond the usual cliques and classes––there’s a strange creature lurking around and pupils are disappearing and a dark history to the local town that Wednesday’s burgeoning psychic powers will unlock.
Created for TV by ‘Smallville’ veterans Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, this show also boasts the talents of Tim Burton, who would seem to be a natural fit for the ‘Addams’ style (he was actually offered the first movie but passed). And so it proves.
With sparky, entertaining scripts and suitably gothic production design, ‘Wednesday’ proves to be a winner, full of imagination and ideas that put it ahead of the game for its genre.
Though Burton is usually found putting his unique stamp on projects, here he resists that urge––it’s not missing entirely, but it’s certainly toned down. Call it just enough to help the show have a specific look.
Yet perhaps the main reason this succeeds the way it does is Ortega, who brings a dark vitality to the role. She completely owns the character, finding new layers (aided by the scripts and the show’s push to explore why she is who she is) to someone that we’ve seen before.
That’s no easy task considering that the cast also boasts Christina Ricci, whose Wednesday in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values’ is still considered the gold standard. Ortega never feels like she’s channelling Ricci, but their Wednesdays are complementary, springing from the same source.
Delivering certain lines as though they’re dripping with poison, and yet finding the humanity too, Ortega’s is an awards-worthy performance and more proof that she’s a rising star to watch.
Outside of Ortega, ‘Game of Thrones’ Christie puts in a solid performance as Weems, who is none too happy to have another Addams at the school. As for the family themselves, Zeta-Jones and Guzmán (whose Gomez is actually closer in design to the original cartoon strips than the movies’) do a lot with the little they’re given––because, after all, the show isn’t called ‘The Addams Family’. It’s fun to see them on screen, and the parents do pop in the episode focused on their past with Nevermore.
Myers’ Enid plays well off of Ortega, bringing extra joy to the screen whenever she graces it, while enthusiastic early friend Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) is also a fun addition.
Plus, while the character is usually a throwaway gag in scenes, Thing here has more of a part to play, serving as a confidante for Wednesday, while also sending intel back to the family. He’s brought to life in such a way as to totally seem real––he’s practically a magic trick, which makes sense since hand-actor Dorobantu is a magician in real life.
And, while he shows up later in the show, Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) is also entertaining, though sometimes perhaps too much of Armisen creeps through at times.
The male contingent of the school makes less of an impact, blandly filling their part of the story and the show does sometimes fall into the pitfalls of the YA genre, with less-than-thrilling romantic subplots and a few stock characters. But thanks to Ortega and her castmates’ commitment, ‘Wednesday’ still works.
The show has been a big hit for Netflix––both in terms of viewers and viral content––and it’s not hard to see why. Season 2 would be a welcome surprise, as there’s plenty of story left to be told.
Even as backing organization the Hollywood Foreign Press Association continues to try to dig its way out of an avalanche of scandals about diversity, payments for members and exclusionary tactics, the Golden Globes are making something of comeback after the ceremony wasn’t broadcast this year.
Also doing well (somewhat expectedly given its nomination and win success so far) was ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, also appearing in Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, Best Actress, Musical or Comedy for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting actor (Ke Huy Quan) and Best supporting actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), while writer/directors Daniels––AKA Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert––were nominated for their script and direction.
Tom Cruise was surprisingly left out of the acting nominations, though perhaps not too shockingly since he gave back his previous globes in protest against the HFPA’s behavior. We’re more surprised to see Brendan Fraser nominated for ‘The Whale’, since he’s long been on record as criticizing the inappropriate behavior of a former HFPA president towards him from years ago.
The Globes continue to have a bad reputation for almost ignoring female creative talent on the several fronts outside of acting and a few craft categories, but at least ‘Turning Red’s Domee Shi notched up a Best Animated Motion Picture, becoming the first woman of color to have a movie she directed up for an award.
Here’s the full list of nominations on the film front…
Best Motion Picture – Drama
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
‘Elvis’
‘The Fabelmans’
‘Tár’
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Cate Blanchett, ‘Tár’
Olivia Colman, ‘Empire of Light’ Viola Davis, ‘The Woman King’
Ana de Armas, ‘Blonde’
Michelle Williams, ‘The Fabelmans’
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Austin Butler, ‘Elvis’
Brendan Fraser, ‘The Whale’
Hugh Jackman, ‘The Son’
Bill Nighy, ‘Living’ Jeremy Pope, ‘The Inspection’
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Diego Calva, ‘Babylon’ Daniel Craig, ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ Adam Driver, ‘White Noise’
Colin Farrell, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ Ralph Fiennes, The Menu’’
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Brendan Gleeson, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Barry Keoghan, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Brad Pitt, ‘Babylon’
Ke Huy Quan, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Eddie Redmayne, ‘The Good Nurse’
Best Director — Motion Picture James Cameron, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Baz Luhrmann, ‘Elvis’
Martin McDonagh, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Steven Spielberg, ‘The Fabelmans’
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Todd Field, ‘Tár’
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Martin McDonagh, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ Sarah Polley, ‘Women Talking’
Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, ‘The Fabelmans’
Best Original Score – Motion Picture Carter Burwell, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ Alexandre Desplat, ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’
Hildur Guðnadóttir, ‘Women Talking’ Justin Hurwitz, ‘Babylon’
John Williams, ‘The Fabelmans’
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Carolina,” Taylor Swift (‘Where the Crawdads Sing’)
“Ciao Papa,” Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro, Roeban Katz (‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’)
“Hold My Hand,” Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Benjamin Rice (‘Top Gun: Maverick’)
“Lift Me Up,” Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson (‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’)
“Naatu Naatu,” Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj (‘RRR’)
Quinta Brunson on ABC’s ‘Abbott Elementary.’ Photo Courtesy of ABC’s YouTube Channel.
On the TV side, the nominations were dominated by some familiar titles––‘The Crown’, Better Call Saul’ and ‘Ozark’––while some new arrivals made their mark, including ‘Abbott Elementary’, ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘Severance’, which have all popped up on other lists.
And there were the usual ‘hoping celebs attend’ listings, including ‘Alaska Daily’ and ‘Gaslit’.
The list of TV nominees is below:
Best Television Series – Drama
‘Better Call Saul’
‘The Crown’
‘House of the Dragon’
‘Ozark’
‘Severance’
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Quinta Brunson, ‘Abbott Elementary’ Kaley Cuoco, ‘The Flight Attendant’ Selena Gomez, ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Jenna Ortega, ‘Wednesday’ Jean Smart, ‘Hacks’
Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
‘Black Bird’
‘Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’
‘The Dropout’
‘Pam & Tommy’
‘The White Lotus’
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television F. Murray Abraham, ‘The White Lotus’ Domhnall Gleeson, ‘The Patient’ Paul Walter Hauser, ‘Black Bird’ Richard Jenkins, ‘Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ Seth Rogen, ‘Pam & Tommy’
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical-Comedy or Drama Television Series Elizabeth Debicki, ‘The Crown’ Hannah Einbinder, ‘Hacks’
Julia Garner, ‘Ozark’ Janelle James, ‘Abbott Elementary’ Sheryl Lee Ralph, ‘Abbott Elementary’
While we’ve met plenty of the Addams Family so far in trailers for Netflix’s new spin-off series ‘Wednesday’, there was one main character who had yet to be revealed. The streamer used the New York Comic-Con to unveil Uncle Fester, here played by Fred Armisen.
In typical Fester form, he’s a bald, pale sort whom Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) initially suspects might be a threat, but is delighted to discover it is, in fact, her uncle. And though he claims to be traveling incognito, we’re not sure a dalmatian-spotted motorbike exactly lives up to that concept.
With Ortega as the titular central character, ‘Wednesday’ charts her years as a teenager, albeit one who still favors dark tones and ice-cold seriousness.
As for the rest of the family, we have Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as a Gomez who hews more closely to Charles Addams’ original comic strip version and Isaac Ordonez as brother Pugsley, the target of many of Wednesday’s schemes (though she will fiercely defend him as needed, too).
‘Wednesday’, which of course draws from Addams’ work, sprung from the minds of ‘Smallville’ duo Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who decided on a new direction. And while they never expected to, they secured the ideal creative partner in Tim Burton, who agreed to executive produce and direct the series.
“He was interested in where it was going, the mystery of the show,” Gough tells Vanity Fair. “He had a lot of questions about the previous television work we’d done, like how we were able to achieve it. He really loved that you had time to be with Wednesday and explore the character and you didn’t have to wrap things up in an hour and 45 minutes.”
‘Wednesday’ is described a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday 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.
Gwendoline Christie, recently seen in ‘Sandman’, is Larissa Weems, head teacher of Nevermore, and apparently no fan of the Addams clan, with an axe to grind stretching back years to her time as a classmate of Morticia.
Also popping up – and providing an unexpected link to the movies – is Christina Ricci in an unknown role. She, of course, famously played Wednesday in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values’. Her character is one of the teachers at Nevermore.
Though it might seem to be prime fodder for Halloween viewing, Netflix has decided instead to go for November 23rd, AKA the day before Thanksgiving. Perhaps the streaming service is looking to give frustrated families something to watch between giant meals?
Tim Burton famously passed on the offer to make a movie based on Charles Addams’ famous cartoon strip family (they’d previously arrived on screens via a 1960s TV series). But he’s now fully involved in the upcoming Netflix TV series ‘Wednesday’, which as the title suggests, focuses on the eldest child of the family.
The first trailer for the show explores how the ultimate troubled teen – not that she or her family would see her that way – has been expelled from a variety of ill-fitting schools through the years but might finally have a chance to fit in at Nevermore Academy, with which her parents have history. But even there, she faces issues (see more on that below).
It’s a stylish and fun first proper peek at the series, as Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) gets revenge on jocks who have been tormenting brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) by releasing piranhas in the high school athletes’ pool.
And you can also see Ortega as Wednesday in a new image, with Catherine Zeta-Jones as mom Morticia, Luis Guzmán as dad Gomez, and Ordonez’ Pugsley.
While people these days tend to associate Gomez with the suave, lithe Raul Julia from the 1990s movies (which Barry Sonnenfeld ended up directing), the intent here was to bring him back closer to the original illustrated version.
“He wanted the silhouette to look more like the Charles Addams cartoons, which is Gomez shorter than Morticia, versus the kind of suave Raul Julia version in the movies,” co-show-runner Alfred Gough tells Vanity Fair.
(L to R) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday.’
“He’s also incredibly debonair and romantic, and I think he has all those classic ingredients of the Gomez that has come before, but he brings something also very different and new,” his colleague and fellow executive producer Mark Millar offers. “That’s something that was very important to the show – that it didn’t feel like a remake or a reboot. It’s something that lives within the Venn diagram of what happened before, but it’s its own thing. It’s not trying to be the movies or the ’60s TV show. That was very important to us and very important to Tim.”
Gough and Millar came up with the original concept and are running the show, while Burton directs and produces.
‘Wednesday’ is described a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore. Wednesday 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.
Gwendoline Christie, recently seen in ‘Sandman’, is Larissa Weems, head teacher of Nevermore, and apparently no fan of the Addams clan, with an axe to grind stretching back years to her time as a classmate of Morticia.
Also popping up – and providing an unexpected link to the movies – is Christina Ricci in an unknown role. She, of course, famously played Wednesday in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values’.
Netflix has yet to announce when ‘Wednesday’ will arrive on the streaming service, beyond saying it’ll be in the fall. We’re thinking around Halloween might be the perfect spot. Perfectly terrible, and therefore perfect if we’re channelling Wednesday.
(L to R) Jimmy Workman, Christina Ricci, and David Krumholtz in ‘Addams Family Values.’
(L to R) Jimmy Workman, Christina Ricci, and David Krumholtz in ‘Addams Family Values.’
When news broke that Netflix – and producer/director Tim Burton – were planning ‘Wednesday’, a new, updated show based on Charles Addams’ ‘Addams Family’, many wondered whether the series would find a place for Christina Ricci, who famously played the character in the live-action movies.
It has – though not in her original role. Instead, according to Deadline, she’s playing a mystery new character.
Jenna Ortega, who appeared in this year’s new ‘Scream’ sequel is Wednesday here, with Luis Guzmán as Gomez, Issac Ordonez as Pugsley, George Burcea as Lurch and Victor Dorobantu as Thing.
‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Star Wars’ veteran Gwendoline Christie will be Larissa Weems, head teacher of Nevermore, and apparently no fan of the Addams clan, with an axe to grind stretching back years to her time as a classmate of Morticia.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar came up with the original concept and are running the show, while Burton is an executive producer and is directing the eight-episode first season. Cameras have been rolling for the past few months in Romania.
Christina Ricci in ‘Addams Family Values.’
‘Wednesday’ is described 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 chance to add Ricci reportedly came about when Thora Birch – who was appearing as Tamara Novak, Wednesday’s dorm mother and the only “Normie” on staff at Nevermore Academy with a focus on all things botanical – had to leave mid-production to deal with a family issue.
She’d finished filming the bulk of her scenes, though the new character played by Ricci is apparently intended to succeed her somehow and wrap up her storyline. While the production is scheduled to finish work in the next couple of weeks, Ricci has reportedly been on set for at least a couple of months, quietly filming what the producers hope will be a gift for fans of ‘The Addams Family’ movies.
Ricci became for many people the defining live-action Wednesday after playing the character in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family’ and 1993’s ‘Addams Family Values,’ directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. There, she was a clever, morose sort, constantly plotting against her younger brother.
More recently, Ricci had a brief role in ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ and upcoming horror thriller ‘Monstrous’. She’s also been enjoying kudos for her part in Showtime’s buzzy mystery thriller series ‘Yellowjackets’.
As for ‘Wednesday,’ Netflix has yet to announce when the show will premiere, but it could be on our screens before the end of the year.
(L to R) Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, Judith Malina, Christina Ricci, Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, and Christopher Lloyd in 1991’s ‘The Addams Family.’
5511
