Jenna Ortega’s interesting choice of films and TV projects has made her one of the most promising young actresses who have captured people’s interests. The actress has built a reputation as a scream queen with her starring roles in hit horror films such as X, and two Scream movies. Ortega is now a household name as Wednesday Addams in the highly successful Wednesday series.
In addition to joining the Scream franchise, she is now starring in the sequel to Beetlejuice which is releasing very soon. Owing to her huge popularity, Ortega must have certainly been approached to star in other big franchises in recent years. The Wednesday star recently revealed that she auditioned for the role of Chani which was played by Zendaya in Dune.
Jenna Ortega Believes She Read For Zendaya’s Role In Denis Villeneuve’s Dune
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune had a great ensemble cast led by Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. The first film had a short but intriguing cameo from Zendaya who plays Chani, The actress got to shine as the character in the second film, where she battles between her loyalty to her people and her love for Paul. It seems other actresses were also in the running for the role before Zendaya was cast.
Jenna Ortega is now at the peak of her career with back-to-back big hits in recent years. The actress has starred in some high-profile projects and her star power in the industry continues to rise with every project. In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, the Scream star revealed that she auditioned for a role in 2021’s Dune when she was 15 years old and got to meet Villeneuve.
She was a big fan of the franchise and believed that the role she was auditioning for was Chani. Ortega eventually didn’t get the role and it went to Zendaya instead. Fans are commenting on this new revelation, pointing out that Challengers star was a better choice and they do not see Ortega in the role. Here are some of the reactions on X,
they made the right choice
— doctor idk (@bigmonkeong) August 26, 2024
Zendaya was perfect imo
— 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕠 〰️ (@MANOMAGlC) August 26, 2024
She’s not as good of an actor as Zendaya yet maybe in the future she’ll get huge roles like this, but they made the right call
— Praveer Tiwari (@therealpraveer) August 26, 2024
Would have been miscast.
— Oroku Saki (@Tony_Omega) August 26, 2024
Glad she didn't get it, Zendaya is perfect 💯 The Chemistry between Paul and Chani wouldn't have been as good. pic.twitter.com/DpA4yKJmDO
— (YooHoodY) (@YooHoodY) August 26, 2024
Ortega is indeed a talented actress and would have probably done a good job as Chani. But as fans pointed out, the believable chemistry between Chalamet and Zendaya as Paul and Chani may not have resonated as well if it was Ortega in the latter’s role. The Wednesday star also looks young and many people might find her unconvincing as a mature and fearless Fremen fighter.
Jenna Ortega Teases A More Ambitious Second Season of Wednesday Compared To The First
Jenna Ortega‘s Wednesday series became a huge hit for the streamer and had a huge impact on pop culture. The series is currently shooting the second season and Ortega recently updated fans on what to expect from it. In an interview with Extra, the Scream star revealed that they are getting to do more creative things and exploring wonderful opportunities that they weren’t able to do in season 1.
Ortega further stated that she has shot for 4 episodes and each has a standout set piece that will surely impress fans. She said,
I have, like, really incredible set pieces, is what I would say… We’ve only done four episodes so far, but every episode has one strong, kind of outstanding scene or factor, which is kind of nice… This season just feels like we’re getting a little bit more of an opportunity to do the things that we wanted to accomplish in the first one, maybe just didn’t have the resources or faith. We just have a lot more trust this season.
There is a huge anticipation of the return of Wednesday and the team seems to be trying their best to surpass the first season. Ortega is now starring as Astrid Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice which will hit theatres on September 6, 2024.
Fans can watch Zendaya in the two Dune films on Max.
