Disney star Jenna Ortega has been taking the world of Hollywood by storm as of late. Her role as Tim Burton’s “Wednesday” skyrocketed her popularity among avid consumers of television. She has starred in many horror-like projects, including both “Scream V” and “Scream VI” and in director Ti West’s “X.” Her talent of playing characters with a more dark edge to them has caught the eye of Tim Burton, adding Ortega to this famous filmmaker’s list of actors and actresses he frequently loves to work with.

  Ortega has landed the role of Lydia Deetz’s daughter in the sequel to the 1988 classic “Beetlejuice.” She will star alongside the original cast, including Micheal Keaton revisiting his role as the demon in stripes, and Winona Ryder, returning as Lydia Deetz! Fans of the film have mixed feelings about seeing this film come to life, including junior Eli Weddington, a fan of all things horror and Tim Burton.

  As a fan of the original film, Cat Talk interviewed Weddington about Burton being seen as very biased in the filmmaking world, because he seems to only work with a select few actors on many different projects. This junior Wildcat was asked to give his input on this perspective, and he replied, “I feel that she has become part of Tim Burton’s “inner circle.” This you can see from Johnny Depp being in almost all his movies, it indicates that he’s part of that circle too.” He continues with, “Tim Burton is extremely biased on his choices, in his history he has only cast white and pale people as his characters and picks favorite actors that show up in all his movies. However, a lot of directors tend to have signature actors that they prefer to work with. Though, he has even gone too far as to say black people ‘don’t fit his style,’ so yes, I’d say he is very biased.”

  Like many people have, Weddington has seen Ortega’s performance as Wednesday Addams. He was asked if her execution of Wednesday influences how Weddington feels Ortega will do in Beetlejuice. He says that Ortega wasn’t bad on Wednesday, but even if she wasn’t in Beetlejuice, “I would still think that making a second movie is unnecessary.” Weddington has very strong opinions on a second adaptation of the story of the demon in stripes, saying, “I think a sequel is extremely unnecessary.” He says, “I think the only reason they’re doing a sequel NOW and that Jenna Ortega is being included is because of the popularity of Beetlejuice on Broadway and the huge popularity of her [Ortega] after “Wednesday” and now also after” Scream VI.” I think it’s a cash grab at best, but I am excited to see Winona Ryder return, and I am curious to see what they’ll do.”
  On working with Tim Burton, Ortega told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s been quite an insane experience.“I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with, and also the most detail-oriented.” In a different interview, she tells E! News that she remembers “…Tim being really wonderful about things like that and calling me to his trailer in the mornings and saying, ‘What are you uncomfortable saying? What do you want to say?’ When you have supportive collaborators like Tim, it makes it a lot easier.”

  It’s clear that Burton picks favorites on the sets of his projects, but seeing the success of “Wednesday,” there is no doubt that Ortega will shine in the “Beetlejuice” sequel, which is set to hit theaters September 6, 2024.