Jenna Ortega has said she was “devastated” not to return to You in its fourth season.
The 20-year-old actor was unable to appear in the latest episodes of the hit Netflix serial killer drama due to her starring role in Wednesday.
In season two of You, released in 2019, Ortega played Ellie Alves, the 15-year-old sister of Delilah (Carmela Zumbado).
Series showrunner Sera Gamble recently revealed that she had wanted Ortega to return in season four, but the actor’s commitment to Wednesday posed too many scheduling problems.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ortega described her disappointment at being unable to reprise her You role.
“I was devastated,” she said. “It was easily one of my favorite sets that I’ve ever, ever been on. I was so devastated. I miss Ellie, and I’ve been wanting to go back to Ellie for a long time, but I was in Romania shooting Wednesday.
“I couldn’t travel back and forth with the pandemic and everything like that, and when you’re committed to a show there’s just no way that it could’ve worked out. But that, that one bummed me out. I tried.”
Speaking to IndieWire last month, Gamble suggested that You would try and bring back Ortega’s character in the future.
“We wanted to bring Ellie back and we heard, ‘Oh, Jenna is doing some show,’” she said. “It’s been just such a pleasure to see Jenna this year. We have ideas for Ellie if her schedule allows her to visit us again.”
On Sunday (26 February), Ortega appeared onstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards alongside Aubrey Plaza. The duo poked fun at the suggestion they resemble one another.
Season one of Wednesday and seasons one to four of You are available to stream now on Netflix.
