Added new photos of Jenna Ortega at New York Comic Con on October 08, 2022 in New York City.

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Public Appearances > Appearances from 2022 > October 08 – New York Comic Con

Back in the early ’90s, Christina Ricci famously brought Wednesday Addams to life for two The Addams Family movies, not only cementing the impact of the creepy and kooky daughter, but also kickstarting Ricci’s career. Jenna Ortega is stepping into the shoes of the character for the upcoming Netflix TV series Wednesday, with Ortega recalling the experience of meeting Ricci, claiming that she nearly had a panic attack over the experience. Rather than this merely being a meeting between two performers, the encounter unfolded due to Ricci having a role in the project, with her involvement seemingly signaling a welcome passing of the torch. Wednesday premieres on Netflix on November 23rd.

“I felt like I was genuinely having a panic attack when I was told,” Ortega revealed to Empire Magazine. “I was terrified. She’s a really cool lady. I was fine meeting her, but the first time we did a scene together and she had to see me done up the way she was done up 30 years ago, it was nerve-racking.”

The series is 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.

Ortega went on to detail the challenges of taking on the role, as she wanted to honor the character yet not be doing an imitation of Ricci’s take on the figure.

“It’s really important to me that I wasn’t ripping anyone off,” the actor admitted. “Christina Ricci’s performance is flawlessly done. It’s pitch-perfect and I wouldn’t change anything about it, which is another reason it was hard for me to do this job.”

Luckily, the nature of the story meant that audiences would be seeing Wednesday at a different age than we’ve seen in the past.

“We’ve never seen Wednesday as a teenage girl,” Ortega clarified. “When you get older and you say these sarcastic, bitchy one-liners, it can come off less charming and more rude or obnoxious. That was something I was really wary of.”

Wednesday will premiere on Netflix on November 23rd.

Jenna Ortega has boarded Lionsgate and Point Grey’s Miller’s Girl opposite Martin Freeman, Deadline has learned.

The pic reps the directorial debut from writer-director Jade Halley Bartlett, whose screenplay for the project ranked on the 2016 Black List.

In Miller’s Girl, a creative writing assignment yields complex results between a teacher and his talented student. Point Grey has been attached to the project ever since it arrived on the Black List.

Mary-Margaret Kunze is producing with Point Grey. Josh Fagen is overseeing the project for Point Grey, with Chelsea Kujawa and Scott O’Brien overseeing for Lionsgate.

Erin Westerman, President of Production for the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, tells Deadline, “While we are excited for the movie to speak for itself, the level of talent assembled for this special film is a testament to Jade, whose screenplay lures you in with her dazzling voice. And then eats you alive.”

Ortega will next star in the title role of the Tim Burton Netflix series Wednesday, centering on the Addams Family character. In January she starred in the $140M-global grossing Scream and is set to reprise her role in the hit franchise’s sixth installment. She recently wrapped production on the crime thriller Finest Kind directed by Oscar winner Brian Helgeland, was last seen starring in A24’s X and HBO’s The Fallout. She is represented by CAA, Gilbertson Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.

Bartlett is repped by UTA, Heroes and Villains Entertainment, and attorneys Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman.

The film is currently shooting in Georgia. Lionsgate is handling global sales.