‘Wednesday’: First Images of the Series Shows a Different Gomez Addams ‘Versus the Kind of Suave Raul Julia Version’

Tim Burton’s Wednesday is one of the most anticipated series coming to Netflix. The series has been hush-hush for some time now, with no official trailer yet. But fans have gotten a small taste of Jenna Ortega in the lead role of the macabre teen. Fans finally get a bigger picture of the gothic Addams family. But for Wednesday, a few tweaks were made to Gomez Addams to fit the original cartoons better.

‘Wednesday’ chronicles the female character’s teen years

Wednesday is not the first time fans have met the Addams family or its peculiar teenager. The story has been retold many times, from the original cartoons to Christina Ricci’s pop-culture portrayal to animated movies. But Netflix’s Wednesday promises a new zest of life for the characters.

Led by Ortega, the series follows a coming-of-age story as Wednesday attends a private academy and develops supernatural abilities. While other renditions follow the family as a whole, the series will focus more on the female teen. While at school, she gets caught up in a series of murders in the local town and a mystery involving her parents.

The cast of Wednesday is impressive. Taking on the role of the drop-dead gorgeous Morticia is Catherine Zeta-Jones. Actor Luis Guzmán plays her eternal lover and husband, Gomez Addams. Isaac Ordonez stars as the hapless brother Pugsley.

Fans get their first look at the family as a whole in newly released stills and portraits of the characters for the series. But fans might notice Gomez Addams in Wednesday sways away from the live-action version made famous by actor Raul Julia.

Raul Julia’s rendition of Gomez Addams is not exactly the same in ‘Wednesday’

One of the great love stories of TV and movies is the unique yet sizzling marriage between Gomez and Morticia. Gomez was a sight for sore eyes who epitomized suaveness and charm. While the TV series was popular, actor Raul Julia made the character a pop culture icon in The Addams Family movies.

The actor died in 1994, and fans wondered how Wednesday would compete with his version of Gomez Addams. With the official stills and portraits of the characters, creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough told Vanity Fair about Burton’s mindset behind the look for Gomez.

“He wanted the silhouette to look more like the Charles Addams cartoons, which is Gomez shorter than Morticia, versus the kind of suave Raul Julia version in the movies,” says Gough. Guzmán’s version is noticeably different but stays true to the essence of who Gomez is.

“He’s also incredibly debonair and romantic, and I think he has all those classic ingredients of the Gomez that has come before, but he brings something also very different and new,” says Miller. “That’s something that was very important to the show—that it didn’t feel like a remake or a reboot. It’s something that lives within the Venn diagram of what happened before, but it’s its own thing. It’s not trying to be the movies or the ’60s TV show. That was very important to us and very important to Tim.”

‘Wednesday’ is keeping another Gomez character a secret

The new official images are everything fans could have wanted. Zeta-Jones embodies the striking beauty that Mortician is known for. Not to mention her iconic long black hair and tight bodice dress. Guzmán’s Gomez Addams portrays the cartoon character well and wears his famous pine-strip suit, combed hair, and mustache.

Fans have already raved about Ortega’s version of Wednesday. The gloomy teen is back in full swing with the dark gothic charm fans have loved from the start. This time, Wednesday switches up the teen’s wardrobe while staying in the black color scheme. Last but not least is Pugsley. The younger brother always wears stripes and is the subject of his sister’s playful torture.

But fans might notice one important Addams family member is missing. Where is Fester? He is the brother of Gomez and uncle to Wednesday and Pugsley. The character was confirmed to appear in the series. But the creators are staying quiet. “We have no comment on Uncle Fester,” said Gough. “Watch the show.”

Wednesday is set to premiere sometime in the Fall of 2022.