The spookiest, kookiest clan in pop culture are returning to theaters this October for The Addams Family 2, the sequel to 2019’s animated reboot of Charles Addams’ iconic gothic brood. Now is a good time to be an Addams Family fan, as Netflix is also working on its own live-action reimagining of the franchise – TV series Wednesday, from director Tim Burton. The cast includes Jenna Ortega in the title role, with Catherine Zeta Jones and Luiz Guzman cast as her parents, Morticia and Gomez.
As far as we know, though, Burton’s show has yet to find its Uncle Fester. So maybe Nick Kroll, who voices Fester in the animated films, would be up for reprising his role in live-action? That’s the question that ComicBook.com put to the Big Mouth star and he revealed that he’d be open to the idea of bringing these characters to life alongside the rest of the animated cast. However, he’d rather give a MoCap performance as Fester than sit in the make-up chair for hours.
“If they wanted to Mark Ruffalo [it] and dot me up [for motion capture], I’d be up for that,” Kroll revealed. “Having spent four hours a day in makeup to do the hit series Cavemen on ABC, I have some PTSD from the makeup chair, but I love playing Fester and I would love to perform this alongside Oscar [Isaac] and Charlize [Theron] and Chloë [Grace Moretz]. I’d be curious how they’d have Snoop Dogg in the live-action version, but Snoop seems to be down to do the work … And that’s the beauty of animation. You can be anywhere and do it and not have to be in 10 hours of makeup a day, prosthetics, a big suit, and a bald cap. Playing Uncle Fester has been a joy and, as you mention, has such a long history, franchise, to be a part of it feels pretty awesome.”
Fester is a core part of the family, having featured in every screen adaptation over the decades, with notable performers being Jackie Coogan in the original 1960s sitcom and Christopher Lloyd in the 1990s films. Lloyd is almost unrecognizable as Fester and had to wear a lot of make-up and prosthetics to play Gomez’s bald-headed brother, so you can see why Kroll would be reluctant to do the same.
As the title suggests, Netflix’s Wednesday is less about the family as a whole and instead focuses on the gloomy teenage daughter as she attends a supernatural boarding school called Nevermore Academy. Nonetheless, her immediate relatives, including brother Pugsley (played by Isaac Ordonez), will be involved. So hopefully Fester will turn up sooner or later, as it kind of isn’t the Addams family without him.
The Addams Family 2 opens in theaters this Friday, October 1st.