Wednesday star Jenna Ortega can still join the MCU, actually

Some have claimed Wednesday star Jenna Ortega won’t be able to appear in the MCU – but they’re wrong.

Starring in an MCU film seems to be the ticket for many a rising actor in Hollywood, and now a new big kid on the block is being debated on whether or not she will be following suit.

Jenna Ortega, fresh off the success of Wednesday, X, and Scream 5, is naturally being seen as an up-and-coming actor. Therefore, many are wondering if she will be appearing in her own Marvel movie one day, like how fellow rising star Florence Pugh was widely expected to join.

However, this proves to be a topic of debate, as it seems like she’s already appeared in a Marvel film before, in a much smaller role. But this may not necessarily stop her from running her own story in Marvel’s future. Let us explain…

Jenna Ortega has already appeared in the MCU

Jenna Ortega has actually already appeared in Marvel film, albeit it was in a very small role.

In 2013’s Iron Man 3, a much younger Ortega has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance as the Vice President’s daughter.

However, despite the role only being small, fans were still able to spot it. This includes one Twitter user, Mia Khalifa, who posted last week: “Life is unfair, and I stand by that because Jenna Ortega had a cameo in a Marvel movie years ago which means we’ll never be able to see her as a lead in a Marvel movie.”

Many seem to assume that Ortega will not be able to lead her own Marvel movie now, due to her already having a part in the MCU. However, there may still be hope.

Ortega could appear again, if she wanted to

While it’s not super common, a number of prominent actors have returned to Marvel in different roles.

The biggest example of this would probably be Gemma Chan, who played the role of Minn-Erva in 2018’s Captain Marvel, before returning as Sersi in 2021’s Eternals.

Another actor is Michelle Yeoh, who played Aleta Ogord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Ying Nan in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Mahershala Ali has portrayed Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth in Luke Cage, and will of course be playing Blade in his own movie in Marvel’s future.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be impossible for Ortega to return either. And considering how young Ortega was in Iron Man 3, and her small her part was, it would be easy for her to simply adopt another role without causing too much confusion, as the average viewer likely wouldn’t recognize her younger self.

However, this obviously depends on whether or not Ortega would want to come back to the MCU, or if the franchise would even have a major part suited for her. But there’s a multiverse of possibilities, both literally and figuratively.

Wednesday is currently available to stream on Netflix. You can find out more about Season 2 here.