The New Wednesday Trailer Finally Reveals Uncle Fester
While the previous trailer for Tim Burton's new Addams Family project "Wednesday" was loaded with small details, one rather large aspect of the production has remained a mystery — the casting of Uncle Fester. Now, the newest trailer release has finally brought this iconic character into the mix.
The role was first originated by Jackie Coogan on the original 1960s sitcom, played by Christopher Lloyd in two "Addams Family" feature films in the 1990s, and voiced by Nick Kroll in the recent computer-animated "Addams Family" movies. With all that talent, it's clear that this character has accumulated quite an acting legacy behind his black cloak, bald head, and bulging eyes — and for a long time, fans looking forward to "Wednesday have asked themselves which great actor would be the next to shave his head and speak in Fester's distinctive high-pitched squawk. The secrecy of this production naturally led to rampant speculation, with some fans guessing that Burton's former muse Johnny Depp could be making a comeback in the role of Fester (Newsweek).
However, it's now clear that these Depp rumors were unfounded, thanks to Fester's appearance in the new trailer.
Meet your new Uncle Fester: Fred Armisen
A little over a minute into the new trailer for Netflix's "Wednesday," which you can see above, the titular heroine (Jenna Ortega) has a brief confrontation with a mysterious dark-hatted man. He takes off his hat, revealing the unmistakable bald pate of Uncle Fester, much to the delight of Wednesday. And the actor playing him is perennial comedy favorite and "Saturday Night Live" alum Fred Armisen.
Armisen is a good fit for Fester, specializing as he does in eccentric characters, and as the wild card of the already pretty wild Addams Family, "eccentric" is an understatement for Fester. While the showrunners have yet to reveal just why they kept the pitch-perfect casting of Armisen a secret for so long, the fact that it's now out in the open means his performance will be able to stand on its own merits.
You'll be able to see how Armisen does for yourself when "Wednesday" — which also stars Luis Guzman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and former 1990s Wednesday Addams actor Christina Ricci — hits Netflix on November 23, 2022.