Christina Ricci will play a role in the Netflix ‘Addams Family’ series ‘Wednesday’
She’s not playing an older version of the title character but will instead fill the void left by a departing Thora Birch.
(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.
The cast also includes Tommie Earl Jenkins, Iman Marson, William Houston, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Oliver Watson, Calum Ross, Johnna Dias Watson, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Emma Myers, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday and Percy Hynes White.
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.'
