Christina Ricci Finally Cast in Wednesday, Addams Family Series from Netflix

Now 42 years old and an acclaimed and successful career removed form her star-making performances in 1991's "The Addams Family" and its 1993 sequel "Addams Family Values," Ricci is still the first person that comes to mind when most people think of the "Addams" property.

That became clear upon the announcement that Tim Burton and Netflix would be revisiting the creepy and kooky family in a new series -- especially when they revealed it would be entitled "Wednesday," and focus on the first daughter of fear.

Fans immediately started insisting, urging and hoping that Ricci would somehow be involved. If it were to chronicle the adult Wednesday Addams, she could obviously step back into the role. If it were to keep Wednesday as a child, perhaps she could step into the Morticia Addams role Anjelica Huston played in the film.

That role ultimately went to Catherine Zeta-Jones, with Luis Guzmán cast as her amore Gomez.

The role of Wednesday, who in this new series will be tackling supernatural mysteries while dealing with her burgeoning psychic abilities and attending the exclusive Nevermore Academy, was given to Jenna Ortega.

Gwendoline Christie rounds out the announced cast as Larissa Weems, principal at Wednesday's school and an old school rival of Morticia's. The show's description teased a connection between the mysteries Wednesday deals with now to one her parents were "embroiled" in 25 years ago.

That seemed to put a cap on dreams of Ricci's involvement, as it certainly sounded like a full cast and show with a still-young Wednesday. But on Monday came news that she had joined the show after all, albeit in an as-yet-unannounced role.

One possibility, as extrapolated by E! News, came after Thora Birch left the series. Birch had portrayed Tamara Novak, Wednesday's dorm mother at the Academy. According to Deadline, most of her scenes had already been filmed before her departure, citing a "personal matter," so no recast was necessary.

However, producers told the outlet, that still left some things unfinished. Most is not all, and so they floated the possibility of a new character taking over for Tamara. It's also possible that her character could be written out entirely, with a new character simply taking over the role entirely, or that both characters could co-exist simultaneously. Could this be how Ricci ties in as such a late cast addition?

There is no word on what role Ricci might be playing, or if it connects to Birch's departure from the eight-episode series at all. Maybe Burton decided the new series needed an older and wiser Wednesday Addams narrating this chapter of her life story. Sure, E! said she's set to play a new character, but old-school fans can still dream -- and plans can still change!

Regardless of what role she plays, "Addams" fans are thrilled that the '90s Wednesday will be joining the '20s "Wednesday." The highly-anticipated series has no release date yet.  While they wait, Ricci fans can catch her in the critically-acclaimed Showtime hit "Yellowjackets," which wrapped its first season in January.