Jenna Ortega Advocates for Women Being Cast as Leads in Original Films: ‘I Don’t Want to See Jamie Bond’

Jenna Ortega is ready to see more women get their franchises and not just feminine flips of already popular characters.

The actress made the comment during a recent interview with MTV about her upcoming film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. When asked if she would like to play a female version of Edward Scissorhands — a classic film directed by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice director Tim Burton — named “Edith Scissorhands,” Ortega revealed she’d rather do something original.

“I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special. But we have our own,” said Ortega. “I don't like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see, like, ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass.”

Ortega recently spoke with Complex about working on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with Tim Burton. “He always speaks of his experience working on the original Beetlejuice so fondly,” the actress revealed. “Being able to see that passion and that kind of reignite something in him was really exciting and wonderful to see.”

She also revealed how she felt when she realized she was really working on such an iconic movie. “I definitely realized the weight of it when I got the script because that was crazy,” she said. “And then I had a panic attack like, ‘Man, how did I get here?’”

Last month, Ortega made headlines because of her outspokenness about political correctness in Hollywood. She spoke with Vanity Fair and got brutally honest about how she feels about the phenomenon.

“The business that we work in is so touchy-feely,” she said. “Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty.”

She then expressed what she’d love to see in her industry instead.

“I wish that we had a better sense of conversation,” she continued. “Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument.”