Jenna Ortega Wants to Make Directorial Debut
After nearly a decade of developing the story, Ortega is ready to write, direct, and star in her first feature film.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 06: Jenna Ortega attends the world premiere of Paramount’s “Scream VI” at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on March 06, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Before she was slaying monsters on screen or stealing scenes in Wednesday, Jenna Ortega was quietly dreaming up something even bigger—her own movie. Now, after nearly a decade of keeping that vision close, she’s finally ready to bring it to life… from the director’s chair.
In a conversation with V Magazine, Ortega revealed that she’s been working on a script for “almost 10 years” and feels the time is right to take control behind the camera. She’s not only planning to act in the film—she’s also producing and directing it.
“I have a script that I’ve known that I was going to make for almost 10 years. It’s weird because it’s something that I thought of when I was younger and when I first started out in this field, and it’s only now that I’m actually starting to take the steps to get it made, which is really interesting,” Ortega said. “I’m just putting the puzzle pieces together in my head. So I think I needed a few years of that under my belt to understand the order of doing things.”
Although this will be her first time directing, Ortega has already taken a major step behind the scenes. She recently became an executive producer on the A24 horror comedy Death of a Unicorn, in which she also starred. Next, she’ll executive produce and appear in Hurry Up Tomorrow and the new season of Wednesday.
Still, her real passion seems to lie behind the lens.
“This one in particular, I see myself in it, but I really want to direct. That’s probably the main thing that I want to do. I see that for myself. I just feel that’s the way my brain wants to work and think, and that’s how I even view my acting sometimes.”
Eventually, Ortega hopes to step out of the spotlight altogether and focus solely on creating stories from behind the camera.
“I don’t want to be in the things that I create in the future, but starting out, because I’ve created more leverage for myself with a name as an actor, I may as well use that as a stepping stone.”
From childhood idea to future film, Jenna Ortega is proving that some stories are worth the wait—especially when you're determined to tell them your way.
