They shared the screen in a Tim Burton oddity years ago. Now Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega will cross paths once more — this time inside Netflix's ever-expanding Addams Family universe.
In a recent ScreenRant interview marking Smallville's 25th anniversary, showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar dropped the kind of news that makes fans sit up: Winona Ryder is set to appear in Wednesday season three. The reveal arrived with a wink. Details remain guarded, and for good reason; mysteries suit this show. But the headline is clear.
Winona Ryder will appear alongside Jenna Ortega throughout Season 3.
Gough laughed when asked about Tabitha’s role and refused to spill the beans. Millar, however, confirmed that Ryder will be part of the series' world and that viewers will see her share screen time with Ortega. It’s a reunion with pedigree: both actresses previously worked together in Beetlejuice, and now their paths converge again in a very different, darker comedy-drama.
Eva Green’s casting as Ophelia earlier signaled the creative team's appetite for assembling actors associated with Tim Burton-adjacent tones. Millar described the process as thrilling — like collecting faces from a particular cinematic orbit and letting them collide inside the Addams milieu. The result, he said, has been energizing for the cast and crew alike.
There’s a practical reason the makers feel liberated. Unlike a tightly mapped superhero origin story, the Addams canon leaves a lot of empty spaces. Gough framed it as creative play: they had films, a TV show, and Charles Addams’ original sketches, but little in the way of exhaustive backstory. So the writers have been filling the gaps, inventing relatives and histories, and stretching the family tree in unexpected directions.
That openness echoes the showrunners' experience on Smallville, where origin material was expanded to build a fresh long-form narrative. Millar acknowledged the similarity in approach but emphasized that Wednesday has offered even more room to roam. Freedom, in this case, has meant inventing whole corners of the Addams world and letting the characters lead the way.
Production updates are lean but noteworthy. Filming wrapped in September and post-production is underway. Netflix is targeting a 2027 release window for the new episodes, though an exact date hasn't been announced. Fans are already piecing together what will follow from season two — which aired in 2025 — and speculation is focused on the show's next big pivot: Paris.
Yes, Paris. The creatives have confirmed that Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday will travel to France as part of season three. Why? Because she’s searching for Enid. The younger girl’s post-season-two whereabouts remain one of the show’s dangling threads, and a European detour hints at a more ambitious, globe-trotting storyline than the series has attempted so far.
Will that search reunite old friends or open the door to new rivalries? The presence of Winona Ryder suggests the writers are planning character beats that matter, not cameos for clickbait. Expect resonance with the series’ gothic humor, plus touches of mystery and melancholy — the tonal cocktail that made the show a breakout.
Until Netflix sets dates and the creatives loosen their lips a touch more, fans will have to read the clues. Casting smiles are only the beginning. The true intrigue will be watching how these performers reshape the Addams map and what Paris reveals about a girl who is always, quietly, rewriting her own story.
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