Wednesday star Jenna Ortega will also step into a producing role in Season 2 of the hit Netflix series. In a sitdown with Elle Fanning for Variety, the actor revealed the next chapter in the show will focus more on horror while stepping away from any romantic storylines for her character.
“It’s still coming together, but we’ve decided we want to lean into the horror more,” Ortega said. “We’re ditching any romantic love interest, which is really great. We’re going to get bolder, more dark.”
Ortega also opened up about being a first-time producer after previously admitting to changing Wednesday’s lines on set during Season 1. “It was a natural progression,” she explained. “With a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved and such a legend, I just really didn’t want to get her wrong. So I try to have as many conversations as possible. On set, with the writers and Tim [Burton], we all would get together and decide, ‘Okay, what works and what doesn’t?’”
Now, Ortega will be involved earlier in the process. “In preparation for a second season, we wanted to make sure that we could start the conversations earlier,” she said. “And I’m just so curious. I want to see the outfits, new characters that are coming in, scripts, and they were gracious enough to let me put the producer hat on.”
In March, Ortega cited the love triangle subplot between Wednesday, Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), and Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White) as an example of her pushback to dialogue written for her character. With the formal title of producer, her voice will be heard even louder in Season 2.
Ortega’s next film, Beetlejuice 2, is currently in production ahead of a planned September 6th, 2024 release date.
