Tim Burton to Direct Jenna Ortega's Wednesday Episode

The star of the series “is very aware” of everything that happens on the set, explains the filmmaker. “Sometimes more than me, even!” he laughs.

Interviewed by Vanity Fair, Jenna Ortega looks back on his criticisms of the first season of Wednesday. In March 2023, she revealed that she had “changed lines of dialogue from the series without warning”as some of the expected reactions of his character “didn't make any sense” for her.

“I had to bang my fist on the table, something I had never done on a set before, she confided. Everything Wednesday does In the show, everything I had to play, it all made no sense for her, for this character. The fact that she was in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about a dress she had to wear to the school dance. And she said in the original script: 'Oh my God, I love this!' Yuck! That was not possible. I couldn't say that. I literally hated myself. I had to say: 'No' !”

Jenna Ortega: Wednesday's Confession Interview

“Perhaps I should have chosen my words better to describe everything that was going on behind the scenes, she said today. Sometimes I can be so dry… I found it all difficult to live with because I felt that if I had presented the situation better, what I was saying would have been better received. Everything I had tried to express was exaggerated, I felt like I was in a dystopia, in a caricature of myself.”

However, at only 21 years old, Jenna Ortega has managed to impose her ideas on the team of Wednesdayto the point of imposing changes: for example, it will not be no more question of “love triangle” in season 2. Screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar listen to the advice of the actress, who in retrospect did well not to let all the “details” which seemed illogical to him in relation to his heroine.

She does, however, acknowledge that the over-exposure of the series, following its huge success on Netflix, has led to increased criticism, sometimes virulent, towards it.

“Even I couldn't stand seeing myself last year, she recognizes. My face was literally everywhere. So I was like: 'It's well done'. SIf I opened my phone and saw the same girl saying something stupid over and over again, I would be sick of it too. It also taught me that you can't please everyone. As someone who naturally tries to please those around them, it was a tough lesson. But there are people who won't like you… that's just the way it is, it's okay.”

Asked about his collaboration with Jenna Ortega, the director of part of the show, Tim Burton, acknowledges that Jenna is “very direct”. Which is a quality for him: he quickly rehired her for his sequel to Beetlejuice. The director ofEdward Scissorhands goes even further by asserting that Vanity Fair that the actress should according to him make an episode of Wednesdayas she offered welcome ideas and made justified remarks to the team.

“He is someone who is very logical, allergic to nonsense, and I find that refreshing, beautiful and artistic, he explains about the show's lead actress. She should move on to directing on this series. If she wants to, of course. I saw from day one how aware she was of everything that was happening on set. Sometimes more than me, even.”

Currently in production, season 2 of Wednesday will probably be released in the fall of 2025 on Netflix. As for Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceit will be released in theaters on September 11.

Here is its trailer:

How Wednesday's Series Brought Beetlejuice 2 Back to Life