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EXCLUSIVE: This is the news "Addams Family" fans have been hoping for since the new Netflix series Wednesday was announced: Christina Ricci, the actor most closely associated with the title character, will be a major part of the live-action show from Tim Burton.
Ricci, who starred as Wednesday Addams in the Barry Sonnenfeld-directed 1990s "Addams Family" feature franchise, is a series regular in Wednesday, which is headlined by Jenna Ortega in the title role, Deadline has learned.
Details about Ricci’s role are being kept under wraps to protect the surprise for fans, but I can reveal that she plays a new character and not an older version of Wednesday.
Christina Ricci dangling meat in a scene from the film 'Addams Family Values', 1993. (Photo by Paramount/Getty Images)
I hear Ricci was brought in following Thora Birch’s exit amid production. Ricci is playing a new character, who is similar to the one originally played by Birch and will replace it on the show. Ricci quietly has been working on Wednesday for weeks; filming on the MGM-produced series is slated to wrap in Romania at the end of the month.
The coming-of-age comedy, written by "Smallville" creators Al Gough and Miles Millar and directed by Burton, stars Ortega as Wednesday Addams during her years at Nevermore Academy. It’s described as a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery.
In addition to Ortega, Ricci stars alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones as matriarch Morticia Addams and Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams.
Christina Ricci currently stars in the hit Showtime series ‘Yellowjackets’. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Ricci’s performance as Wednesday in the "Addams Family" movies is so beloved for fans of the franchise that they launched a petition when the Netflix series was announced, calling for her to be cast in the show.
Burton executive produces Wednesday with Gough and Millar, who serve as showrunners. Also executive producing are Kayla Alpert, Steve Stark, as well as Andrew Mittman for 1.21, Kevin Miserocchi, Jonathan Glickman for Glickmania and Gail Berman.
Anjelica Huston is kissed by Raul Julia in a scene from the film 'The Addams Family', 1991. (Photo by Orion/Getty Images)
Ricci next will return for Season 2 of Showtime’s breakout hit "Yellowjackets," in which she stars. Her recent credits also include "Amazon’s Z: The Beginning of Everything," which she produced, and "The Matrix: Resurrections." She is repped by ICM Partners and Untitled Entertainment.
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