New projects by Jenna Ortega (update)
This week Wednesday came out on Netflix, on a Wednesday of course. It is an amazing show and a formidable performance by Jenna Ortega as the lead character Wednesday Addams. I’m thinking Emmy, including for choreographing ‘that dance’. With that, everything I mentioned in the previous blog post “Jenna Ortega: what’s in the pipeline?” is now available. So what’s next? First some of the questions that were open in that post.
- I mentioned Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous season four. In the meantime even season five, and an interactive version called Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure are available on Netflix. In both Jenna voices one of the main characters called Brooklynn.
- Jenna’s role in Studio 666 was indeed very small, but of course impressive. It came out in cinema’s.
- The film she filmed in New Zealand was indeed called X. It has been released in cinema’s and is available on blu-ray.
- The film she filmed in Spain was indeed called American Carnage. It had a US cinema and dvd release, but not near me yet.
- The ‘UK project’ I suspected turned out to be preparations for filming Wednesday when they were testing things like Wednesday’s hair style.
- Jenna was indeed not in season three of You. The show’s makers have said they wanted her in it and consider her character Ellie important in the story, but Jenna has just been too busy filming other things and they couldn’t schedule it. You season four is coming up and the same thing applies: Jenna has been so busy filming back-to-back, still, that it is unlikely she will be in season four. I still hope to see her there anyway, of course.
2022 had me watch just three films on the big screen: Scream, X and Studio 666. And I’m not even into horror… What will 2023 be like?
Scream
Again! Scream 6, or Scream 2 of the modern era, has been filmed and Jenna Ortega is in it as Tara Carpenter. It has been filmed, at least partially, in Canada and is set, at least partially, in New York. In all behind the scenes images I’ve seen Jenna, as Tara, is wearing the same clothes. So Tara either dies quickly in this slasher film, or has no time to change clothes while being hunted by Ghostface, or it is all part of the great subterfuge. In most images she is together with Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter, which means that the sisters either die together, survive together or kill together…
Scream 6 will be released 10 March 2023 in US cinemas.
Finestkind
This is a Massachusetts-based film that will come out on Paramount+. Since it was announced, this streaming platform also started in my country (as SkyShowtime) so I’m happy that I get to see it. Filming is finished already. It’s likely a crime thriller and in some ways (except the drugs) autobiographical for the writer/director. Jenna plays a young woman who “finds herself caught in the middle” of the dealings of two brothers with a crime syndicate.
The Deadline article: https://deadline.com/2022/04/paramount-picks-up-crime-thriller-finestkind-starring-tommy-lee-jones-ben-foster-toby-wallace-jenna-ortega-1234994682/. It mentions that it would come out at the end of 2022, but I think they are still doing post-production.
In an interview Jenna was asked whether she needed to do a Boston accent for this film and she said she didn’t, but would have been happy to learn. Why her character doesn’t need a Boston accent is still kept secret.
Miller’s Girl
Jenna has a major role in this film of which not much is known yet. This has finished filming. The imdb tagline mentions “a teacher and his talented student”, so I’m guessing Jenna is going to be that talented student. Notice how she often plays these highly-intelligent, high-performing characters?
The Deadline article: https://deadline.com/2022/09/jenna-ortega-millers-girl-martin-freeman-1235122345/.
Update 12 January 2023:
Winter Spring Summer or Fall
This is a film that Jenna recently completed. She plays the lead. She’s also one of the executive producers of the film.
Wednesday season two
The series Wednesday has been renewed for a second season. Jenna plays the title character.