Aubrey Plaza Pitches a Wednesday Addams Movie For Herself: ‘I Need to Call Tim Burton’
The new Netflix original series Wednesday has certainly taken fans by storm. It skyrocketed to the streaming service’s most-watched show one week after its premiere, surpassing even Stranger Things. While fans and critics alike pick apart just what it is that has so captivated viewers, it has also opened speculation about what might be next for the series. Obviously, the series’ star Jenna Ortega has nailed this performance. But what if they needed an older actor to play a flash forward or sequel character? Aubrey Plaza and her fans think she might fit the bill.
Aubrey Plaza pitched herself as a future Wednesday Addams
In a 2022 interview for GQ, Plaza answered fan questions that popped up in social media comments. One of these involved a fan gushing about how Plaza would be “first pick” to play an adult version of Wednesday — as long as Christina Ricci wasn’t available.
Plaza responded to say that she loves the character but that she’s “more in the Morticia [Wednesday’s mother] casting pool at this point,” a reference to the fact that she — now 38 — is too old to play the youthful teen. She went on to say, “but if they did like a newly divorced Wednesday going on a wellness retreat in Arizona–” She cut herself off and said, “I’m pitching a movie right now. This is gold!”
“I need to call [executive producer] Tim Burton,” the actor joked before moving on to the next fan comment.
Who has played Wednesday in the past?
Wednesday was originally played by Lisa Loring when the first TV series aired in the 1960s. Christina Ricci, however, is probably the more familiar face of the role today as she took on the part in the 1990s film revival for the series.
If the series did make a leap forward in time (either briefly within the existing series or as a standalone spinoff), the creators would likely need to find someone new to portray the older version. Christina Ricci would be a likely candidate, but she already took on an important role in the new series as a teacher at Wednesday’s school named Marilyn Thornhill.
Could Aubrey Plaza be the pick? Time will tell, but the current season has wrapped up, and it’s not clear if there will ever be a need for an adult version of a character who has been a perpetual child for the past 60 years.
What’s next for the ‘Wednesday’ series?
The new Netflix series wrapped up neatly but also left the door open for more, a smart move for a new TV series where the reception was unknown. In the face of its astounding success, however, it’s almost certain we’ll be getting more seasons.
As Us Weekly reports, the show’s creators — Miles Millar and Alfred Gough — have plenty of plans laid out for the future. Reacting to the outpouring of support from fans, they were appreciative and hopeful about what’s to come: “That’s never expected, but that’s the anticipation that hopefully the show is successful. So you always lay out at least three or four seasons’ worth of potential storylines for the characters. It can evolve and change. We certainly have a pretty clear runway of what we want to do in future seasons.”
An official announcement about a season 2 renewal hasn’t happened, but it’s almost certain it will. Millar and Gough reflected on what they’d like to do with that second season if it materializes. They want more focus on Wednesday’s personal growth. As Gough said, “The series is really about a girl who sees the world in black and white, and learning there are shades of gray.”
