'You' showrunner Sera Gamble unveils in a new interview that the 20-year-old former Disney Channel star's 'Wednesday' filming schedule prevented her to make a return in season 4 of the Netflix pysichological thriller.
- Feb 10, 2023
AceShowbiz - Jenna Ortega was supposed to return for the fourth season of "You" but she couldn't. According to the hit Netflix psychological thriller showrunner Sera Gamble, the 20-year-old actress' leading fellow Netflix series "Wednesday" filming schedule prevented her from doing so.
In an interview with IndieWire, Sera revealed that Ellie Alves, the character Jenna plays on "You", was expected to return in the new episodes that were released on the platform on Thursday, February 9. "We wanted to bring Ellie back and we heard, 'Oh, Jenna is doing some show,' " Sera shared. "It's been just such a pleasure to see Jenna this year. We have ideas for Ellie if her schedule allows her to visit us again."
Moreover, while Joe a.k.a. Jonathan Moore, played by Penn Badgley, bonds with his student Nadia (breakout star Amy-Leigh Hickman), it's only more reminiscent of his older brother-mentor bond with Jenna's Ellie. "To me, his relationship with Nadia is really telling," Sera added, "He has such a soft spot that is truly altruistic. He has really good boundaries with young people…except when he occasionally kills their abusive stepparents, but otherwise he's a great mentor."
Sera later teased other possible season 4 appearances, saying, "Any character who's not dead who knows anything about Joe, it's fair game to try to exert any justice. And any character who is dead, he has a really active imagination."
Fellow "You" alums also include Elizabeth Lail, Victoria Pedretti, Dylan Arnold, Shay Mitchell, Carmela Zumbado, Travis Van Winkle, Shalita Grant, James Scully, Zach Cherry and John Stamos. Of the "You" family, Sera said, "These are some busy, in-demand actors."
Jenna previously told Teen Vogue in 2019 that she would love to reprise her role of Ellie. "It would be amazing to see Ellie come back and take control of her life," she told the publication. "I just want her to be an even bigger bada**. I don't want her to come back and be extremely vulnerable and sad."
"We have to remember that even though people still find Joe somewhat charming, he's evil, he does terrible things, and he gets away with them because of his gender and race and his position in society," Jenna elaborated. "[Ellie] has so much potential and so much talent that she shouldn't waste because of him."
Jenna, meanwhile, stars in the upcoming slasher "Scream VI". The former Disney Channel star also has three additional films as well as a second season of "Wednesday" in the works.
