Christina Ricci casting in Netflix Wednesday Addams reboot divides fans: ‘Nostalgia casting is cheap and lame’

Netflix’s announcement that Addams Family star Christina Ricci will be joining the cast of its forthcoming spinoff Wednesday has drawn mixed reactions from fans.

On Monday (21 March), the streaming service confirmed reports that Ricci had been cast as “an exciting new character” in Tim Burton’s Wednesday.

Netflix tweeted: “Yes, it’s true – the magnificent Christina Ricci is joining the cast of the new Wednesday Addams series as an exciting new character *snap snap*.”

Ricci played the part of 13-year-old Wednesday Addams in Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1991 film The Addams Family.

While some fans welcomed the news, others were disappointed to learn that Ricci would be playing neither an older Wednesday Addams nor her mother Morticia Addams in the series.

“Would’ve preferred if she was Morticia,” one Twitter user commented under Netflix’s casting update.

Last year, Netflix announced that 18-year-old Jenna Ortega (Jane the Virgin and You) had been cast as Wednesday, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán playing her parents Morticia and Gomez Addams.

Another social media user tweeted: “If she’s not Wednesday you’re just giving us member berries. Sorry, that’s not enough. Nostalgia casting is cheap and lame.”

Other Twitter users were more upbeat about the Yellowjacket actor’s return to the morbid comedy franchise.

“Goth teen me is exploding right now,” a Twitter user said, with another writing: “Fantastic news! Thank you”

According to the show’s synopsis, Wednesday will follow its titular character’s “misadventures as a student at Nevermore Academy: a very unique boarding school snuggled in deepest New England”.

In addition to making his directorial television debut with Wednesday, Burton is also the show’s executive producer. The series has been created and written by Al Gough and Miles Milla, who also serve as series showrunners.

The streamer is yet to confirm a release date for Wednesday.