Christina Ricci is set to return to The Addams Family franchise in Netflix’s series Wednesday, correcting a mistake made by The Addams Family 3. Ricci portrayed the gloomy and mischievous young Wednesday in 1991’s iconic The Addams Family adaptation as well as the 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values. Now, more than 30 years after her first appearance, Ricci has been added to the cast of Tim Burton’s The Addams Family series, undoing mistakes of films past.
The new Netflix series Wednesday brings the twisted mind of Tim Burton into The Addams Family franchise. The show will follow Wednesday Addams as she learns to control her budding psychic abilities at Nevermore Academy, inevitably finding herself embroiled in the same supernatural mystery that plagued her parents decades prior. Jenna Ortega is slated to play the eponymous Wednesday Adams, and Christina Ricci’s involvement has been confirmed, though her character remains a mystery.
The Addams Family has been extraordinarily popular since the original series premiered in 1964, spawning a slew of spin-offs and reboots in the nearly 60 years since. But perhaps the least well-received incarnation remains 1998’s Addams Family Reunion starring Tim Curry and Daryl Hannah as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Raul Julia, the actor who had previously portrayed Gomez, ed away in 1994, and the children portraying Wednesday and Pugsley Addams (changed from Pubert Addams for the film) had grown too old for their roles, leading the remaining of the cast to lose interest in the project. Addams Family Reunion was forced to bring in an entirely new cast, and despite the star power it managed to attract, the film suffered heftily as a result. Now, Netflix's Wednesday has a chance to fix Addams Family Reunion's mistake. Not only will the series allow Ricci to end her former role thematically, but her involvement is satiating to fans of the live-action movies.
Wednesday will avoid the pitfalls of Addams Family Reunion by taking a new angle on the story with references to the originals without upending the established universe. Although Christina Ricci won’t be returning as Wednesday Addams, her casting in the series is exciting nonetheless. Ricci’s Yellowjackets performance proved that she has retained her proficiency for disturbed characters, so pairing her talents with those of Tim Burton within a universe that thrives on the macabre makes perfect sense.
Although the 2019 animated remake of The Addams Family was rather successful, Wednesday will likely play to a slightly older demographic. With Rob Zombie’s remake of The Munsters, Netflix is smart to attach someone so associated with The Addams Family franchise to Burton’s adaptation to give it a competitive edge. Christina Ricci’s return, paired with Burton’s involvement and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ take on Morticia Addams, set the stage for what is sure to be a gloomy and creative take on The Addams Family.
