Why Wednesday Addams From Tim Burton's Wednesday Looks So Familiar

While Christina Ricci played the character of Wednesday Addams in the movie "The Addams Family," which came out in 1991, and its sequel, "Addams Family Values," that will not be her new role in Tim Burton's show, "Wednesday." Netflix recently released the first trailer, and it had plenty of amazing small details. But front and center was Wednesday herself. The eight-episode series is described as a supernaturally charged mystery, following and highlighting the character's years as a student at Nevermore Academy.

In an interview with Empire, the actress now taking on Wednesday Addams explained why she wanted to play the iconic role: "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 recognised this was an opportunity for me to ... give that relatability to other girls like myself."

So why does Wednesday Addams from Tim Burton's "Wednesday" series looks so familiar? Well, she's been in a lot of noteworthy projects — especially in the horror genre.

Jenna Ortega is taking on the iconic character of Wednesday Addams! There are many different projects you probably know the actress from, and you might be surprised to find out she was actually featured in an MCU movie. She began her career with appearances in "CSI: NY" and "Insidious: Chapter 2" and larger roles in the short-lived "Richie Rich" reboot series in 2015 and the American "Rake" adaptation, but her breakout role was "Stuck in the Middle." The Disney Channel show ran from 2016 and 2018 and followed Harley Diaz (played by Ortega) as she dealt with all that comes with being a middle child in a family with six other siblings.

In an interview with A Book Of, she reflected on the experience, saying, "The proudest moment in my career so far is definitely 'Stuck in the Middle.' Being on Disney Channel was one of my childhood dreams, and I am so proud to say that I accomplished that. Being on Disney has given me the platform to be a role model and an inspiration to young girls and I am grateful for that! I have also always wanted to be a great role model for girls, so I'm killing two birds with one stone!"

Fans saw Jenna Ortega star as Ellie Alves on Season 2 of the hit Netflix thriller series "You." Sharing the screen with Penn Badgley, Victoria Pedretti, and Carmela Zumbado, Ortega was truly in the big leagues, leaving a fantastic impression on those watching. The series presents a dangerously charming, obsessive man, who each season goes to the extreme to make himself part of the lives of women that he is fascinated with.

The actress told Complex, "After doing projects like 'You' on Netflix and things like that where I think people saw me in an older light or in a different light, I started to get more opportunities." She continued, "A big fear for me is I've never wanted to be pigeonholed. I never want to be seen as one thing. So if I can get my hands in as many bowls as I possibly can or have all of my projects not really resemble one another, that would be really, really, cool."

The actress followed her role in "You" with another serious project, "The Fallout," on HBO Max, for which she garnered some of the best reviews of her career and a few award nominations from critic organizations and online associations.

From Disney Channel star to scream queen to "Scream" queen, Jenna Ortega continued pushing into more and more adult projects. She received much praise for her starring role in "Scream" as Tara Carpenter. This film serves as the fifth installment of the classic horror franchise and takes place 25 years after a string of horrendous murders shocked the town of Woodsboro, California, which ends up leading to a new killer using the Ghostface mask and targeting a group of teens fueled by past secrets.

"I think the incredible thing about 'Scream' is that it's always relevant and it's always speaking to a new generation, and what's happening in the world," Ortega told MTV. "It's really self-aware, and I think that's a special quality to this franchise because of that spontaneity with the films, especially that whodunit aspect. It's kind of like a game for the audience, and I think that leads to a really fun experience." After "Wednesday," the actress is set to reprise her role in "Scream 6."

Other horror films she's starred in include "The Babysitter: Killer Queen," "Studio 666," and "X." Netflix's "Wednesday" looks to continue the actress's trajectory of choosing dark horror and horror-comedy projects.