Netflix’s Wednesday season two trailer drops with key star not returning after major controversy

Netflix’s Wednesday season two has dropped its first full trailer, marking the return of Jenna Ortega to the streamer’s biggest English-speaking show ever.

Season one of Wednesday was watched for a whopping 252,100,000 times.

This is a higher figure than Adolescence, any season of Stranger Things, and just shy of Squid Game season one.

Season two marks the return of Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, Luis Guzman, and Catherine Zeta Jones, with newly joined cast members such as Joanna Lumley, Lady Gaga, and Steve Buscemi.

One key part of season one will not be returning however, with Percy Hynes White announcing he would not be coming back for season two of the Netflix show last year.

Hynes White played Xavier Thorpe, one part of Wednesday Addams's love triangle.

The actor was embroiled in controversy in 2023 after anonymous posts on X accused him of sexual assault, claims which he denied in a post on Instagram. He also stood accused of throwing parties where he assaulted underaged girls after giving them drugs and alcohol.

The Wednesday actor strongly rebuked this in a post to Instagram, saying: “Earlier this year, somebody I’ve never met started a campaign of misinformation against me online.

“The rumours are false. I can’t accept the portrayal of me as someone bigoted, or criminally negligent of people’s safety.

“These are the kind of baseless, harmful claims that can create mistrust toward victims.”

Hynes White later confirmed he would not be returning for season two of the show, though the reasoning for this has yet to be confirmed.

A cast announcement was made last year for the show’s second season, leading him to post an Instagram story saying: “I had so much fun working on this show. I can't wait to watch season two. Much love.”

Ortega, who is now an executive producer for season two of the show, spoke about his departure in an interview with Vanity Fair.

She said of Hynes White’s departure that it was a ‘weird redirect, but we’re introducing so many different characters that I think it kind of will get lost’.

She added that the world of Wednesday ‘does feel slightly askew anyway’.

The second season of the show remains hotly anticipated despite the controversy, particularly around the inclusion of new stars such as Lady Gaga.

Wednesday season two releases in two parts, with Part One on August 6, then Part Two releases on September 3.