Luiz Guzmán and Catherine Zeta Jones Will Play Gomez and Morticia In Tim Burton’s Wednesday Addams Series

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Back in February, it was revealed that goth filmmaker extraordinaire Tim Burton would be directing a live-action series for Netflix about Wednesday Addams of The Addams Family. Then, in May, actor Jenna Ortega signed on to portray the titular misanthropic goth girl. Now, Burton’s choice for Wednesday Addams’ scandalous parents Gomez and Morticia have been revealed — and they might surprise a few fans.

As reported by Bloody Disgusting, Tim Burton’s Morticia Addams will be portrayed by Catherine Zeta Jones, a choice that makes sense given Ms. Jones’ vampiness and femme fatale features. Gomez, meanwhile, will be portrayed by veteran character actor Luiz Guzmán, known for such films as Boogie Nights and Waiting… The choice returns the couple to how they were portrayed in Charles Addams’ original cartoons, in which Morticia is tall and stately while Gomez is short and rough around the edges; the latter character was recast as dashing and continental in Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1993 film version, in which Raul Julia portrayed the Addams’ patriarch.

As of now, Netflix has ordered eight episodes of a live-action series surrounding the Addams Family’s only daughter. Tim Burton’s take on this “spooky coming-of-age story” will be “a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy,” and will focus on “Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships.” Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (known for their work on Smallville) are writing and showrunning, and Burton is directing.

Check out the poster below:

Oretga joins a legacy of much-loved actors portraying the role of Wednesday Addams, most notably Cristina Ricci, whose depiction of the character in the 1991 film The Addams Family and 1993’s Addams Family Values have redefined Wednesday since the films’ release. Other than Ricci, Wednesday was voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz in the 2019 animated Addams Family movie. She was also portrayed by Melissa Hunter in the webseries Adult Wednesday, about Addams’ adventures into the various realms of adulting (finding an apartment, having a one-night stand, etc).

More as it unfolds, but in the meantime, learn how to do pigtails before Halloween.

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Words by Chris Krovatin