The cast of Wednesday comes to life as the first images reveal the brand-new Addams family. Wednesday's story dates back to the 1991 Addams Family film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, which was initially supposed to see Tim Burton at the helm before the gothic filmmaker took on Batman Returns. After a stop-motion Addams Family film associated with him failed, Burton emerged as the director of Wednesday for Netflix in 2020. The series stars Jenna Ortega as the titular character, the first on-screen depiction of the family's brooding daughter as a teenager.
Not only does Netflix's Wednesday portray the character in a new light, taking on a bizarre supernatural mystery full of murders while navigating the Nevermore Academy, a private school for outcasts, but it also highlights Wednesday's relationships with her family in refreshing ways. Showrunners Miles Millar and Alfred Gough revamp the remainder of Wednesday's eclectic Addams Family clan with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as Gomez, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley. Back in June, audiences got the first look at Ortega as the older Wednesday in a trailer. Now, another look at the cast is revealed.
Vanity Fair now shares the first official images of the full Addams family lineup—sans Fester. Ortega, Zeta-Jones, Guzmán, and Ordonez closely resemble the cartoon drawings of Addams Family creator Charles Addams from the pages of The New Yorker in the mid-20th century. Wednesday sports her signature pigtails, Morticia her lavish vampire gown, Gomez his pinstripe suit, and Pugsley his striped sweatshirt and short pants. A couple of stills from the show accompany the promotional photos, showing an unamused Wednesday sitting between her smiling parents and Pugsley tied up and stuffed inside a locker. Check out the images below:
The article also examines the show's inception and Burton's unique perspective on the classic characters. Apart from Ortega's bleak portrayal of Wednesday, praised by Christina Ricci from the 1991 film, Millar and Gough reflect on Burton's desire for Gomez to look more like his creator's original drawings aesthetically but retain his sophisticated and upbeat attitude. As far as Morticia and Pugsley go, the showrunners state that Wednesday will maintain a relationship with both characters that should be familiar to Addams Family fans. The series, however, will go even deeper into their emotional bonds.
Viewing the entire Addams family in costumes by Oscar-winner Colleen Atwood is thrilling for fans of the franchise, and anybody aware of the characters' classic designs should be relieved that Burton's vision results in a cast remarkably similar to Addams' brainchild. With the redesigned Thing and Burton's well-documented penchant for the macabre, the gloomy clan of oddballs is shaping up to be a faithful adaptation of the comics that launched a beloved franchise. Viewers will supposedly have to watch Wednesday on Netflix later this year to see Fester and other iconic characters, but it should be worth the wait.
Source: Vanity Fair