If 2022 was The Year Of Jenna Ortega, as she starred in Scream (2022) and the instantly popular Netflix series Wednesday, the actress is still turning heads in 2023 with her performance in Scream IV. But while Ortega impresses as strong-willed and clever Tara Carpenter, her role as Wednesday Addams can never be forgotten. In March 2023, the actress appeared on Dax Shepard's podcast "Armchair Expert" and said that she had strong opinions about the Wednesday script.
Jenna Ortega definitely got people talking when she shared what she really thought about a certain storyline in Wednesday. What did she say and was she actually right?
What Did Jenna Ortega Say About the Wednesday Script?
While Jenna Ortega relates to Wednesday, she had a gut feeling about the way that the character would think and behave. According to Forbes, Jenna Ortega said that Wednesday didn't act the way that she thought she should at a certain point in the script. Specifically, the actress thought it was strange that Wednesday was originally involved in a love triangle. And she didn't like the character wearing a dress, either.
Ortega said, “Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all. Her being in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about like, this dress that she has to wear for a school dance and she said, ‘Oh, my God, I love it. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that. I literally hate myself.’ And I had to go, ‘No, there’s no way.’”
Wednesday is one of the best horror TV characters because of her spunk and sass, and it's definitely hard to imagine her being torn between two love interests or being thrilled to put on a dress.
Ortega mentioned that she made her opinions known and didn't want to say certain lines of dialogue. She said, “There was times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional, in a sense, where I just started changing lines. The script supervisor thought that I was going with something, and then I would have to sit down with the writers and they would be like, ‘Wait, what happened to the scene?’ And I would to have to go through and explain why I couldn’t do certain things."
Did Jenna Ortega Make Wednesday A Better Show?
Jenna Ortega definitely improved Wednesday with her comments and opinions, as she has a feel for what makes this character so memorable. Wednesday's friendship with Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) turns romantic by the end of season 1, and the fact that he's The Hyde monster on the Netflix series complicates matters. But it's fair to say that not everyone agrees that Wednesday should have a love life at all and that some would have preferred if the two never kissed or had feelings for each other.
Seeing Jenna Ortega's Wednesday in a love triangle would have felt odd. Wednesday is different from The Addams Family movies and while viewers were happy to see Ortega's strong acting, it's fair to say that this character already deviates enough from the source material.
Putting Wednesday in the middle of two potential boyfriends is a bad idea and would make the show feel too similar to teen dramas or even other teen horror TV shows. Jenna Ortega is so much fun to watch in Netflix's Wednesday because she plays the character as an incredibly self-confident person who is truly herself. She doesn't care what anyone thinks or expects and just lives her own life. It doesn't ring true that she would want two people to fight for her affection or attention.
What Are Jenna Ortega's Next Projects?
According to Jenna Ortega's IMDb page, the actress has many upcoming projects. She will star in the movie Miller's Girl, which was written and directed by Jade Halley Bartlett. The film tells the story of a teacher and student as they assign a piece of creative writing. This feels very different from Jenna Ortega starring as Wednesday and it will be cool to see what the actress does with the role.
Jenna Ortega will also star in the movie Finestkind alongside Ben Foster and Tommy Lee Jones. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, the movie follows brothers living in Boston who become part of organized crime. Along with Miller's Girl, Finestkind is currently in post-production. Ortega's other upcoming role is Remi in the teen romance Winter Spring Summer or Fall. Both of these movies will allow Ortega to play a different kind of character than she has in the past.
Finally, the actress signed onto the Untitled the Weeknd & Trey Edward Shults Project. Deadline reported that Shults will direct the film and Abel Tesfaye/The Weeknd came up with the story concept.
After watching Jenna Ortega bring an intensity and also a dark sense of humor to the Netflix series Wednesday, which left many questions for season 2, it will be fun to see these movies and where her career takes her next.