The minds behind one of Netflix’s biggest hits are heading back to the delightfully eerie world of the Addams Family — only this time, the result won’t look anything like the Jenna Ortega-led smash Wednesday.
On a recent episode of Deadline’s Crew Call podcast — the first since this year’s Emmy nominations — Alfred Gough and Miles Millar revealed that they are spearheading a brand-new animated Addams Family movie for Amazon MGM Studios. And they’re not being coy about it: this isn’t a sequel, a spinoff, or even a soft continuation. It’s a full-scale reboot that’s entirely disconnected from Netflix’s live-action series.
“We’re working on it with Amazon MGM and with Kevin Miserocchi who runs the Addams Foundation — he knew Charles Addams and is the keeper of the Addams flame — and with Gail Berman and John Glickman,” Gough explained on the podcast. “We’re rebooting the animated film franchise. So it won’t have anything to do with the two films before it, nor is it connected with this show. It will be a brand new Addams feature. There’s not really much we can say about it, because it’s in the very early stages.”
The plan is for the project to debut on the big screen, marking a fresh cinematic era for one of pop culture’s most enduringly spooky households.
Starting From Scratch — Again
Related: Jenna Ortega “Fires” Fellow Braided Celebrity Amid ‘Wednesday’ Premiere, Takes Over 55 Year Old Role
The Addams Family has been through more incarnations than perhaps any other fictional clan: the original New Yorker cartoons from Charles Addams in the late 1930s, the iconic black-and-white TV sitcom of the ‘60s, the beloved ‘90s live-action movies, multiple animated adaptations, and, most recently, Netflix’s massively successful Wednesday.
But the Amazon MGM reboot will clear the slate entirely. No callbacks to the 2019 and 2021 animated movies. No sly nods to Ortega’s Wednesday. Not even a shared tone with Netflix’s Nevermore Academy mysteries.
For Gough and Millar, this kind of reinvention is familiar territory. The pair met at USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program, bonding over a quirky script about a cop and an orangutan — yes, really — called Mango, which sold to Michael De Luca at New Line. Over the years, they’ve navigated the Hollywood landscape together, scoring credits on major projects including the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Bringing the Addams Back to Their Roots
One intriguing element of this reboot is the involvement of Kevin Miserocchi, head of the Addams Foundation and a personal acquaintance of Charles Addams himself. That connection suggests the new film could lean heavily on the sensibilities of the original single-panel cartoons — sharper, darker, and more satirically inclined than some modern interpretations.
Gough and Millar’s recent success with Netflix’s Wednesday proves they understand how to balance the Addams’ offbeat humor with a broader audience appeal. But Gough made it clear that the key to that success wasn’t about loading up the script with jokes.
“The key with her is not writing a joke, it’s writing to her world view,” he said of Wednesday Addams’ characterization. “Anytime you reach for a joke with this character, you wind up cutting that line.”
Gough also pointed out that Wednesday differs from typical teen sleuths. “She’s no Veronica Mars,” he said. “She commits to solving the crime because someone has gaslighted her, or because she feels a truth isn’t being told. She also sticks up for the underdog.”
Meanwhile, Over at Netflix…
Although the animated reboot won’t have any overlap with Wednesday, the Netflix juggernaut is still going strong. The gothic mystery series, partly directed by Tim Burton, first premiered in November 2022 and quickly became the streamer’s second most-watched original of all time, right behind Squid Game.
Set in the fictional Nevermore Academy, the show follows Ortega’s psychic, razor-tongued Wednesday Addams as she navigates dark mysteries, tangled friendships, and a steady stream of supernatural trouble.
After long delays caused by industry strikes, season 2 finally launched its first half in August 2025, with part two arriving September 3. Just before that premiere, Netflix confirmed a season 3 order.
“I have been doing this long enough to know that shows like this don’t come along every day,” Gough said of the renewal. “It’s such an alchemy of writing, directing, acting, crew, streamer, studio, and fans.”
Millar teased that the next season will expand the Addams family tree: “We will be seeing more Addams Family members and learning more family secrets in season 3.” Filming is expected to start in November 2025, with a possible release in early 2027.
Two Addams Families, One Legacy
The irony of this moment isn’t lost on fans: for the first time, there will be two entirely separate Addams Family projects moving forward at the same time, both helmed by the same creative team but aimed at different audiences and formats.
The Netflix series will continue to mine the teen gothic mystery genre, while the Amazon MGM animated feature has the opportunity to dive into an altogether different tone and narrative structure. With Miserocchi’s involvement and a “clean slate” creative approach, the movie could become one of the truest adaptations of Charles Addams’ original vision in decades.
No casting, plot details, or release date have been confirmed yet — but given the Addams’ remarkable 87-year run in popular culture, there’s little doubt the family’s grim charm will translate yet again.
Whether they’re creeping across the screen in live action or in animated form, the Addams Family seems destined to keep delighting audiences with their unique blend of the macabre and the absurd. And with Gough and Millar at the helm of both projects, the coming years could be a golden age for America’s favorite spooky relatives.
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