Why is there so much secrecy surrounding Fester Addams’ casting in? Wednesday? That remains to be seen, though many fans have their own guesses. As it stands, we know Jenna Ortega will take charge Addams Family reboot series to be released on Netflix in November. It has also been revealed that other Addamses in the series are Luis Guzman as Gomez, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley.
And yet, curiously, no announcements have been made when it comes to Uncle Fester. Because Fester has always been such an important part of the family in the various incarnations of The Addams family, his presence has been noticed by many fans who have watched all the teasers and trailers. Co-creator of the series, Alfred Gough, previously said: Vanity Fair that Fester’s lack of marketing was intentional, but didn’t detail why, just telling fans to “watch the show.”
Now, Tim Burton himself, who directs many episodes of Wednesday, has commented on Fester’s situation, though offering no new information. In the last issue of Empire (per CBR), Burton would only confirm that Fester will definitely “show up” in Wednesday at a given moment. He also did not provide any information about Fester’s casting and continued to tease the arrival of the series for fans to get the answer to the question of his absence.
Who’s playing Fester on Wednesday?
It remains unclear who will play Uncle Fester in Wednesday, and if no leaks or announcements have been made, fans may have to wait until November to see who it will be. That said, it is interesting that the Wednesday team won’t even say who it is playing Fester. We know the character will be in the series, so even if he’s not in the trailers, what could be the harm in revealing the actor who will be playing him?
Naturally, this has led to widespread rumors and speculation. Many fans suspect that Johnny Depp could have secretly filmed a performance as Fester, given his long-standing relationship with Burton. The rumor is plausible in that it would explain the extreme secrecy about the casting of that one character, while the actors of the other family members have been revealed. A Depp cameo that wasn’t advertised could also come as a big surprise to fans of the actor when they watch Wednesday For the first time.
Wednesday filmed in Romania from September 2021 to March 2022. Since his libel trial of Amber Heard did not begin until April 11, it would rule out Depp’s possible involvement in the filming of Wednesday. That also gives credence to the rumor that he could be involved in the series. But maybe the team behind the series is playing coy for other reasons and just letting the fans have their fun with the speculation. It’s worth noting that while Depp has seemingly been vindicated by the lawsuit, Netflix executives may have seen his involvement as a greater risk while Wednesday was actively filming and may have drowned out Burton’s desire to bring in Depp.
Wednesday begins streaming on Netflix on November 23, 2022.