‘Wednesday’: Why Tim Burton Chose the Series as His First Small-Screen Project: ‘She Shares My Worldviews on Things’
It is unlikely that anyone has not heard of or seen a Tim Burton movie. In his career as a filmmaker, he has created cult classics from A Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and more. The filmmaker became infamous for his dark and gothic style that perfectly fits the macabre vibe of the notorious Wednesday Addams. But the Netflix series Wednesday will be the first small-screen project amid his many movies for Tim Burton.
‘Wednesday’ is a fresh new take on the cult classic teenager for Netflix
The upcoming November Netflix series has every fan of the Addams family excited. Fans will get to see a different side to Wednesday. The story will focus on a teenage Wednesday as she is forced to attend Nevermore Academy. Fans will get to see more tweaked versions of the beloved family. For the series, Wednesday gets entangled in a slew of heinous murders and a mystery involving her parents.
While fans will see the Addams family in all their glory and Fester Addams, a few tweaks have been made. Regarding Gomez Addams, Luis Guzman will play a more cartoon-accurate version than what fans remember of Julia Ruiz’s suave version. Wednesday will also be the first time fans see a Latina version of the macabre teen.
But as Wednesday gets closer to its premiere date and new trailers arise, fans see the cunning color scheme and style of Tim Burton. While the Addams family has always been the epitome of goth and the macabre, Burton adds his own flare. But as the Netflix series is his first small-screen project, what made him hop on board?
The Addams family and Wednesday are accurate representations of Tim Burton’s ideals
Fans are getting more and more behind-the-scenes content about the creation of Tim Burton’s Wednesday. Jenna Ortega stars as the infamous teen made famous by Christina Ricci. But there is no denying that the Addams family and the teenager have been part of fans’ lives for years. While Burton has only brought his creations and ideas to life on the big screen, his vividly dark world is a perfect fit for Wednesday.
In a behind-the-scenes featurette, showrunners and executive producer Miles Miller explains, “Tim Burton and Wednesday Addams are a marriage made in heaven.” He explains that the filmmaker sees himself as an “outsider.” Burton has an “affinity to the character of Wednesday he’s always loved.”
It is a perfect match for fans, but the filmmaker explains something deeper. “The Addams family is symbolic of how I feel about families. I think all families are strange,” said Burton. “I particularly love Wednesday because she shares by worldview on things. And that was fun to explore.”
While Wednesday may not be ordinary and scare normal people, she and the Addams family have catered to many fans who have felt different over the years. Now it is time to see it come to life under the dynamic direction of Tim Burton.
Tim Burton did not direct all of the episodes for ‘Wednesday’
While the infamous filmmaker is tied to the series, he is not the only person behind the camera. In an interview with Deadline, Ortega revealed she had difficulties getting into the right mindset for Wednesday as Burton did not direct all the episodes.
“We were going from Tim to another director, back to Tim, to another director. I felt like everybody wanted different things from her. I remember Tim did not want me to have any expression or emotion at all. He wanted a flat surface, which I understand,” explained Ortega. “There were a lot of battles like that because I felt like people didn’t always trust me when I was creating my path in terms of, ‘Okay, this is her arc. This is where she gets emotional,” explained Ortega. The actor reveals amid trying to tell the character’s story; she lost her footing.
“I would call my parents every night in a panic because I felt like it was different from any job I had ever done before where I typically have that time to sit into the character,” said the actor. But Ortega praises Burton and his mastery behind the camera and for becoming her ally while filming.
Wednesday premieres on Netflix on Nov. 23.
