Acclaimed director Tim Burton discusses what attracted him to the upcoming Addams Family spinoff series, Wednesday. The new show by Netflix involves an original story concept within the Addams Family universe, concerning a teenage Wednesday’s coming-of-age tale set within the peculiar Nevermore Academy. Jenna Ortega stars as the eponymous character in the series executive produced by Burton, Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar, which will also feature an entirely new cast playing Wednesday’s famous family.
In an interview with Empire, Burton explains that the show’s script spoke to how he felt while attending school and interacting with his parents as a teenager. Check out the full quote below:
When I read this [script], it just spoke to me about how I felt in school and how you feel about your parents, how you feel as a person. It gave the Addams Family a different kind of reality. It was an interesting combination.
In 1976, I went to a high-school prom. It was the year Carrie came out. I felt like a male Carrie at that prom. I felt that feeling of having to be there but not be part of it. They don’t leave you, those feelings, as much as you want them to go. You know, Wednesday and I have the same worldview.
Tim Burton Is Perfect For Addams Family Show
Indeed, Ortega’s Wednesday is a misunderstood outcast much like Burton describes himself during his youth. He’s previously spoken about how his fascination with monsters and the macabre caused people to see him differently. Therefore, it is unsurprising that Burton feels a personal connection to Wednesday’s script, which similarly places a strange and offbeat young adult into a social situation with which she is not wholly comfortable.
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