Wednesday may have boosted Jenna Ortega's career, but taking the role came with a few drawbacks. Ortega lamented that scheduling conflicts with Wednesday kept her from reprising her You role.
Netflix's Wednesday brought its supernatural world to life by filming in Romania, far from You's filming locations in Paris, London, and Los Angeles. As a result, Ortega isn't in You season 4. She had previously portrayed the role of Ellie Alves in You season 2. Though the writers had wanted to bring Ellie back for the fourth season, Ortega's work on Wednesday precluded Ellie's return.
During a red-carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ortega commented on the conflict between Wednesday and You. "I was devastated," Ortega said. "Easily one of my favorite sets that I've ever, ever been on. I was so devastated. I miss Ellie, and I've been wanting to go back to Ellie for a long time, but I was in Romania shooting Wednesday. I couldn't travel back and forth with the pandemic and everything like that, and when you're committed to a show there's just no way that it could've worked out. But that one, that bummed me out. I tried."
Ortega has previously revealed that Wednesday was a challenging shoot for other reasons. For example, Ortega's iconic Wednesday dance sequence was performed while the actress awaited a COVID test that later came out positive. Ortega has also stated that she found it quite challenging to keep up with the lessons required to bring the character's talents to life and that she was working for six days a week.
Now that Wednesday season 2 has been renewed by Netflix, hopefully, the following season won't be as hard on Ortega. Still, missing out on You season 4 doesn't necessarily mean Ortega will never return to the series. You season 5 seems likely, so perhaps the shooting dates for both series won't overlap this time.
Wednesday also broke numerous viewership records, making the hit series a more significant boost to Ortega's career. Though her return to You would have been fun, a strong showing for Wednesday means that Ortega is far likelier to appear in other films and shows. Ortega is in high demand since Wednesday's premiere.
Wednesday season 1 is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Entertainment Tonight/YouTube