Wednesday Addams star Jenna Ortega reveals why she signed on for Tim Burton's Netflix show and what she's excited to bring to the character. Created by Smallville duo Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the horror comedy series centers on the eldest Addams offspring as she heads to Nevermore Academy to begin her high school years and attempt to master her psychic powers. Upon arrival, Wednesday learns of a monstrous killing spree of those living in the nearby town and must solve the mystery of whose behind it and how it connects to her family's past.
Alongside Ortega, the cast for Wednesday includes Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as Gomez, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Emma Myers, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday, Percy Hynes White, Gwendoline Christie and Victor Dorobantu. Development on the series was first announced in late 2020 when Tim Burton signed on to helm and executive produce an unnamed Addams Family project, with Netflix acquiring the rights the following February and casting swiftly getting underway. As production nears a close for Wednesday, those behind the series are teasing what's to come.
While speaking with Empire, Jenna Ortega offered some insight for Netflix's Wednesday series. In reflecting on her experience on the Tim Burton show, the actress revealed she signed on for it thanks to the ability to bring a proper Latina representation to the character that has yet to be explored in any prior Addams Family adaptation. See what Ortega said below:
"A big part of the reason I signed on is because she’s technically a Latina character and that’s never been shown or represented. As someone who struggled, and still struggles to this day, with some sort of feeling of representation or relatability in mainstream media and film and television, I recognized this was an opportunity for me to… give that relatability to other girls like myself."
Despite the character's typically pale appearance across the various Addams Family adaptations, there has always been a hint of her Latin roots stemming from her heritage. While Morticia's family tree largely traces back to Salem, Massachusetts, family patriarch Gomez has been confirmed to be of Spanish ancestry and Castilian extraction, an element rarely explored but sometimes seen in past castings with Raul Julia in the '90s theatrical Addams Family movies and Oscar Isaac voicing the character in the recent animated films. Additionally, John Astin, the actor behind Gomez in the '60s series, helped craft the character as a Latin lover type with the show's producer David Levy.
Tim Burton has clearly kept this representation in mind with the development and casting for Wednesday not just with Ortega but with her on-screen parents as Luis Guzmán becomes the latest to bring Gomez to life on screen. Though it is currently unclear how the show will properly highlight this aspect of the character, Ortega's bright comments on getting to bring that representation to Wednesday does come as a promising tease of what's to come from the series. Only time will tell when Wednesday premieres on Netflix later this year.
Source: Empire