Christina Ricci heads back to 'The Addams Family' with mystery role in Netflix's 'Wednesday'

Sometimes you do get what you wish for! Ever since Netflix announced it would be doing a show about everyone’s favorite morbid and not-so-mildly murderous teenager, Wednesday Addams, fans have been hoping to see Christina Ricci involved in the project somehow, seeing as she’s the actress who’s most associated with the popular character.

Well, according to Deadline, not only is the Yellowjackets actress going to be starring in the aptly titled Wednesday, but she will be playing a whole new character instead of an older version of the titular character herself. Ricci replaces Thora Birch (Hocus Pocus), who left the show while still in production, reportedly in a similar role. Not much else is known about Ricci’s character — except that she will not be playing Morticia Addams as the Internet might hope. Instead, the iconic role, along with that of her husband Gomez Addams, will be played by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán. 

It’s possible that Ricci will play one of Wednesday’s teachers, seeing as the upcoming series is billed as a "supernaturally infused" mystery series set in Nevermore Academy, where Wednesday will be a student. Jenna Ortega (Scream) stars as the infamous Addams daughter, while Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman) will direct the eight-episode coming of age tale, written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar. 

"Wednesday ... 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 of the strange and diverse student body," Teddy Biaselli, Netflix's head of original series, wrote in a corporate blog post announcing the series. "When we first heard Al Gough and Miles Millar’s pitch for Wednesday we were struck, like an arrow from a crossbow, right in our hearts. They nailed the tone, the spirit and the characters, but gave us a fresh way into this story."

Ortega’s version is the latest live action portrayal of Wednesday Addams, as Chloe Grace Moretz (Kickass) only voiced the character in the 2019 animated feature film and its 2021 sequel. Before that, Nicole Fugere held the role in the 1998 direct to video film, Addams Family Reunion, as well as the The New Addams Family TV show. Debi Derryberry voiced her in the '90s-era cartoon series, and Lisa Loring played a live action version in the '60s. Since then, several actresses have also played the role in the Broadway show, as well as touring productions. 

However, when it comes to Wednesday Addams, most fans tend to cite Ricci’s turn as the character as seen first in 1991’s Barry Sonnenfeld-directed The Addams Family, and later in the sequel, 1993’s Addams Family Values. Her version of Wednesday — like all the characters in the iconic films — is often hailed as being true to the one in Charles Addams’ comics, if not even darker. 

No release date has been set for the series, though it’s slated to premiere later this year, no doubt on a Wednesday.