Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
By
Adrienne Tyler
Published Mar 2, 2026, 7:45 PM EST
Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once.
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Winona Ryder is the latest addition to the cast of Wednesday season 3, but she probably isn’t playing the character many think. Netflix is home to some of the best fantasy TV shows of all time, and one of its biggest and most popular recent hits from this genre is Wednesday, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and with Tim Burton among its producers.
Wednesday focuses on the Addams Family’s daughter (played by Jenna Ortega), as she attends Nevermore Academy, a private school for outcasts and monsters. There, Wednesday develops her inherited psychic abilities while solving a local mystery. Wednesday was released on Netflix in 2022 and was a huge hit, with a second season released in 2025.
Wednesday is now preparing for its third season, which, at the time of writing, is in production, and it has added some interesting names to its cast, such as Eva Green, Chris Sarandon, and Winona Ryder – however, the latter might not play the type of character everyone expects.
Everyone Expects Winona Ryder To Play A Certain Type Of Character In Wednesday
Lydia in Beetlejuice
Wednesday marks the reunion of Tim Burton and Winona Ryder after Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, where Ryder shared the screen with Jenna Ortega. Winona Ryder is one of Tim Burton’s most notable collaborators, having worked together in Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Frankenweenie, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
In all her collaborations with Burton, Ryder has played smart, sometimes quirky, but ultimately good-hearted characters: Lydia Deetz is, in her own words, “strange and unusual”, Kim Boggs showed Edward Scissorhands how to love, and Elsa van Helsing is Victor’s somber but very smart neighbor and classmate.
In addition to that, Ryder’s biggest and most recent TV role, Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, also fits into the above categories. Joyce was unlike other adults in Hawkins, seen as a weirdo by some, especially after Will’s disappearance, but she was a strong and smart woman who literally fought against monsters to save her family.
All this inevitably sets the tone for what the audience expects from Ryder’s character in Wednesday season 3. Netflix hasn’t shared any details on her character aside from her name (Tabitha), so there’s a lot of speculation around it.
It would be understandable to assume, then, that Ryder’s Tabitha will be a dark, quirky, funny, and smart character on the side of the good ones, and even a mentor to Wednesday after her mother/daughter dynamic with Ortega in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Winona Ryder Is More Likely A Wednesday Season 3 Villain
Winona Ryder at the end of Heathers
A nice twist in Wednesday season 3 would be having Winona Ryder play a villain. No one would really expect to see Ryder as a villain in Wednesday, especially for all the above-mentioned reasons and her overall track record, not just in Tim Burton’s movies, but in general.
Ryder has played a variety of characters in her career, but not a full-on villain yet. Ryder has played dark, antagonistic characters like Abigail Williams in The Crucible and Veronica Sawyer in Heathers, but none that fully fit into the definition of a “villain.” Ryder has some morally ambiguous and complex characters in her filmography, as well, such as Susanna Kaysen in Girl, Interrupted.
Playing a villain in Wednesday season 3 would be a big first in Ryder’s career, subverting expectations and ensuring that it will keep the audience engaged. It’s worth noting, however, that Ryder’s role in Wednesday season 3 is being advertised as a guest role, so whether a villain, a good one, or an ambiguous character, one can only hope Tabitha will be a strong presence that makes an impact on the show.
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10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Mystery Comedy Supernatural Release Date November 23, 2022 Network Netflix Showrunner Miles Millar, Alfred Gough Directors Tim Burton, James Marshall Writers April Blair
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Jenna Ortega
Wednesday Addams / Goody Addams
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Emma Myers
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