Jenna Ortega’s New ‘Wednesday’ Co-Star Has A Big Tim Burton Connection

Jenna Ortega’s new Wednesday co-star Thandiwe Newton just joined Tim Burton’s acting family, following in the footsteps of an actor she’s very familiar with.

Variety reported Tuesday that Newton would be joining Season 2 of the hit Netflix Netflix series in an unspecified role. Wednesday marks the first time Newton will appear in a Burton project, although she already has a connection to the director thanks to the work of her daughter Nico Parker.

Nico Parker — the daughter of Newton and director Ol Parker — played a key role in Burton’s 2019 live-action update of the classic Walt Disney Walt Disney film Dumbo.

In Dumbo — which stars such Burton luminaries as Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito — Nico Parker plays Milly Farrier, the daughter of returning war veteran-turned-circus hand Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell).

Nico Parker’s recent credits include the 2023 series adaptation of the hit video game The Last of Us opposite Pedro Pascal. Ol Parker, meanwhile, has directed such films as Ticket to Paradise, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Newton Brings Plenty Of Experience To ‘Wednesday’

Thandiwe Newton has amassed nearly 50 credits in film and television since she kicked off her screen career in 1991.

Newton’s film credits include the 1994 Tom Cruise-Brad Pitt version of Interview with the Vampire and she re-teamed with Cruise for Mission: Impossible II in 2000. Newton has also starred in such films as Crash, The Chronicles of Riddick, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Reminiscence — the latter of which also features Nico Parker.

Most recently, Newton voiced the role of Ginger in the 2023 Netflix original stop-motion animated movie Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.

On television, Newton starred in the pivotal role of Maeve Millay in the Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy sci-fi series Westworld, which earned her an Outstanding Supporting Actress in Drama Series Emmy Award in 2018.

Newton’s other TV work includes voice roles in two Netflix animated shows — Human Resources and Big Mouth — and a starring role in the DirecTV crime drama Rogue.

Newton is the second big casting addition to Wednesday of late. Last week, Variety reported that Steve Buscemi — who previously starred in Tim Burton’s 2003 fantasy hit Big Fish — was joining the cast to play the new principal of Nevermore Academy.

Wednesday Season 2 is expected to premiere on Netflix in 2025.