Netflix
The television series “Wednesday,” which premiered in 2022, is a contemporary take on the Addams Family, a collection of characters that first graced the pages of the New Yorker in 1933 through a series of morbidly humorous comic strips. Over the years, these characters have been adapted into a sitcom, several animated series, multiple theatrical features and TV films, not to mention comic books, video games, and even pinball machines.
The Addams Family’s narrative has remained consistent over time. They are a loving, healthy family whose values are a stark contrast to those of the average family. The Addams Family has a fondness for death, desolation, and unhappiness. They regularly engage in murder and appear to be immortal. However, they take pleasure in everything they do. Gomez, the family’s patriarch, is passionate and sexually devoted to his wife Morticia. Wednesday, their young daughter, is a quintessential Goth child who enjoys tormenting her brother Pugsley.
The “Wednesday” series presents a more mature version of the character, transitioning from her usual elementary school age to her teenage years. The show follows Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna Ortega) as she navigates life at Nevermore Academy, a school for oddballs and monsters, where she uncovers chilling conspiracies. Tim Burton, the executive producer of “Wednesday,” directed the first four episodes.
The inaugural season of “Wednesday” was released in November 2022, and Netflix is currently working on a second season, though no official release date has been announced. The series has garnered a substantial fan base, and viewers have appreciated the refreshed interpretation of “The Addams Family.” Some have speculated whether the version of the Family portrayed in Gough and Millar’s series will ever be adapted into a feature film for theatrical release. However, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gough quashed these hopes, stating that he and the other showrunners of “Wednesday” have no plans to take the series in that direction.
‘Wednesday’ Will Not Be Transformed Into a Movie
Netflix
So far, five feature films have been made starring the Addams Family. Barry Sonnenfeld directed two live-action films in 1991 and 1993, titled “The Addams Family” and “Addams Family Values,” respectively. Dave Payne continued the same storyline with a mostly new cast in the 1998 direct-to-video sequel “Addams Family Reunion.” In 2019 and 2021, MGM released two animated Addams films, “The Addams Family” and “The Addams Family 2.” Despite the abundance of Addams media, some fans have expressed a desire for “Wednesday” to contribute a sixth feature to the list. However, Alfred Gough has no intentions of making this a reality, preferring to keep the action confined to the small screen.
“We believe we explore ‘The Addams Family’ in this show, through Wednesday. So, this is the story. When we did ‘Smallville,’ people always asked if we were going to do a Superman movie. But that was the story we were telling. I think that’s how we feel here. There are a lot of stories to tell in this universe, and we’re excited to do that,” he stated.
For those who may not know, “Smallville” was a series about a young Clark Kent before he relocated to Metropolis to become Superman. The show focused on the excitement and mystery of his upbringing, not the fully formed Superman. It appears that Gough is interested in exploring the intrigue of a teenage Wednesday Addams, rather than using his show as a springboard into something more familiar.
As an update, Gough also disclosed that the second season of “Wednesday” is about halfway done, with production currently taking place in Ireland. Gough, his partner Millar, and Jenna Ortega, the star of the show, had to take a hiatus from “Wednesday” to write and star in Tim Burton’s latest feature film, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which is now playing in theaters. As the song “Friday I’m In Love” by The Cure goes, “I don’t care if Monday’s blue, Tuesday’s gray… but ‘Wednesday’ is coming back.”
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
