Jenna Ortega's Sci-Fi Wednesday Replacement Officially Premieres In 1 Month

Published Sep 27, 2026, 8:45 PM EDT

Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. 

Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).

Wednesday is a key feature of Jenna Ortega's career, but she's just one month away from showing us an even more impactful role. There's certainly no question that this is a talented actor, and evidence of that goes far beyond Netflix's The Addams Family spinoff series. Still, there's something about the character of Wednesday that Ortega seems perfectly suited for. She manages to be charming and likable, all while maintaining that hauntingly deadpan intelligence. Ortega isn't the first to play Wednesday Addams by any means, but she absolutely set a new standard.

It's difficult to say how much longer Ortega will play Wednesday Addams. Wednesday is headed into its third season, and there's a sense that this installment will mark the end of something. Ortega has revealed that this will be Wednesday's final year at Nevermore Academy, but it's unclear whether that means the show itself has no other direction to go. Regardless, Ortega's continued work on Wednesday hasn't gotten in the way of her broader career. She's managed to take on several meaningful roles, and Klara is set to be among them.

Klara is the central character of Ortega's upcoming film, Klara and the Sun, which hits theaters on October 23, 2026. Directed by Taika Waititi and based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun is a dystopian sci-fi about an outdated companion android named Klara (Ortega), who wants nothing more than to fulfill her purpose and befriend the girl she was purchased for. In addition to Ortega, this film stars Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Natasha Lyonne, and Steve Buscemi, among others.

In more ways than not, Klara is the complete opposite of Wednesday. The Addams daughter is sharply intelligent and coldly calculated, known in recent iterations as deadpan and largely sadistic. Ortega's character in Klara and the Sun, on the other hand, is innocent to the point of cluelessness, beginning with the intelligence of a toddler. Still, what Ortega does with both characters is explore a sort of dissonance with typical human emotions, and that's no easy thing.

Klara & The Sun Is A Thoughtful Continuation For Jenna Ortega's Career

Ortega will likely always be associated with the deadpan Wednesday Addams. The actor has taken on entirely different characters since Wednesday premiered, most of which were far more typically emotionally connected to those around them. Still, that dead-inside demeanor is the idea that audiences tend to jump to when hearing Ortega's name. It's interesting, therefore, that she would take on a project like Klara and the Sun. As previously mentioned, Klara is far more lighthearted, joyful, optimistic, and innocent. Yet, she's just as socially clueless.

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By coming on screen and once again playing an emotionally disconnected or socially undeveloped character, Ortega is placing her performance in familiar territory. Klara comes as close as she can to being like Wednesday while remaining, at her core, the complete opposite. Now, there's no longer just Ortega's Wednesday-like roles and those on the more average side of the spectrum. Klara and the Sun fills in the middle ground and demonstrates just how much this talented actor is capable of.It will be a month before we know whether Klara and the Sun reaches its potential. There is more at play here than just Ortega's performance. Regardless, it's reasonable to assume that this film will effectively broaden this actor's horizons after Wednesday. Hopefully, we have a long while yet before Ortega steps away from the deadpan character she helped a new generation fall in love with, but when the time comes, there's no doubt she will be in her element.

• 

  Wednesday

  

  8/10

  Release Date

  November 23, 2022

  Network

  Netflix

  • 

    Wednesday Addams / Goody Addams

  • 

    Enid Sinclair

  Wednesday follows the journey of Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for outcasts. Tasked with mastering her psychic abilities, she confronts a series of town murders and a haunting family mystery from 25 years ago, all while managing new social dynamics.

• 

  Klara and the Sun

  Release Date

  October 23, 2026

  Runtime

  116 Minutes

  • Klara

  • 

    Mia Tharia

    Josie

  • 

    Chris

  • 

    Natasha Lyonne

  A robot named Klara longs to find the right home, eventually chosen by a young girl named Josie who immediately feels a connection with her. As Klara becomes part of Josie's family, she encounters the girl's difficult relationship with her mother and the loss that has shaped their lives.