Advertisement

Catherine Zeta-Jones Is Eerily 'Glamorous' as Morticia Addams in First Look at Netflix's Wednesday

VF's First Look at Netflix's new Addams Family series Wednesda
VF's First Look at Netflix's new Addams Family series Wednesda

Matthias Clamer/Netflix for Vanity Fair

Catherine Zeta-Jones is stepping into the iconic role of Morticia Addams in the upcoming Netflix series Wednesday.

In a new First Look image shared on Tuesday by Vanity Fair, the 52-year-old Tony winner dons the Addams matriarch's signature all-black dress and long, straightened black hair. The look was put together by four-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood, who teamed up with Wednesday's director and executive producer Tim Burton for the reimagining.

Smallville co-creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough co-created the series, which follows Jenna Ortega as the title character as she attends the Nevermore Academy boarding school. (Luis Guzmán plays dad Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez plays little brother Pugsley and Christina Ricci — who played Wednesday in several Addams Family movies in the 1990s — will be joining in an undisclosed role.)

RELATED: Christina Ricci Says Jenna Ortega 'Is Incredible' as Wednesday Addams in Upcoming Series

Wednesday has more often been portrayed as a younger child, so exploring the character as a teenager opens up the new series to exploring a key tenant of adolescent coming-of-age stories as Wednesday explores her own life away from her family.

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday.
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday.

Matthias Clamer/Netflix

"The relationship that kind of hangs over the season is really Wednesday's relationship with Morticia," Gough told Vanity Fair.

"How do you step out of the shadow of a mother as glamorous as Morticia?" he added.

RELATED: Everything to Know About Netflix's Upcoming Addams Family Series Wednesday

According to Vanity Fair, Wednesday is expected to feature a mystery involving "a number of murders that plague the small town" where the teen Addams goes to boarding school.

Those deaths don't particularly bother Wednesday at all, according to Vanity Fair, but what does irk her is the rest of her family's "relentless cheerfulness and enthusiasm," which flies in the face of Wednesday's "gloomy attitude."

jenna ortega
jenna ortega

Netflix

"Wednesday's not scared of sharks or creepy crawlies or anything, but she's afraid of emotion," Gough told Vanity Fair. "Their overt displays of affection drive Wednesday crazy."

"Wednesday attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore," per a Netflix synopsis last August.

"Every family is weird, and this one happens to be extremely weird, but they love each other," Millar told Vanity Fair. "And that's ultimately what it's about: They always have each other's backs, and it's unconditional love."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Wednesday will premiere later this year on Netflix.