Jenna Ortega has been on fire lately. From her breakout role in ‘Wednesday‘ to starring in the upcoming ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘ sequel, she’s become one of Tim Burton’s latest go-to actors.
The rising star is known for her sharp wit and unique on-screen presence. Ortega isn’t one to shy away from expressing her thoughts – especially when it comes to the roles she takes on. Here’s what she said.
Jenna Ortega Wants Women To Have Their Own Characters
In an interview published Tuesday, MTV asked Jenna Ortega whether she’d consider starring in a female reboot of ‘Edward Scissorhands‘. Ortega replied with a thoughtful yet pointed answer.
“I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays; I think that’s so special. But we should have our own,” she said. “I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see, like, ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass,” the actress added.
And honestly, who can blame her? Ortega’s got a point. While it’s great that women are being put in the spotlight more often, do we really need to keep seeing them as rehashed versions of male characters?
Tim Burton Also Had A Singular Vision For ‘Edward Scissorhands’
Jenna Ortega’s sentiment isn’t far off from what Tim Burton himself has said in the past. Back in 2015, when asked if he’d ever consider making a sequel to ‘Edward Scissorhands’, Burton wasn’t exactly keen on the idea. “No. I think things like that are nightmares,” he told EW.
“For me, they’re very singular things… Yeah, some things, I easily get why you make more movies. Trilogies, and sequels, and octogoni. I get it. But for me, they’re usually just singular things,” he added.
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Ortega seems to be echoing that same respect for originality. She even added in her interview, “The beauty of something like ‘Edward’ is the mystery; it’s very sensitive.” She further explained that a character like Beetlejuice is different because of his timelessness. “You see, ‘Beetlejuice’ can still be original because he exists in no specific time. You could take him back to the 1800s if you really wanted to!” he added.
