Jenna Ortega Teases Directing Dreams After Executive Producing ‘Wednesday’ (Exclusive)

Jenna Ortega dreams of someday sitting in the director’s chair.

Recently, when asked what stories she’d like to tell at the Wednesday Graveyard Gala presented by Netflix and Spotify, the star of the hit Netflix show told PEOPLE: “It’d either be, like, really graphic and German, or really grounded and nasty.”

The 22-year-old actress, who executive produced season 2 of Wednesday, says the experience fueled her desire to direct one day. 

“I haven’t gotten to that point in my life yet and while that’s something that I can dream — to do it — I think it’s very different once you start to experience it,” Ortega saaid. 

Ortega revealed that she is drawn to films that are “grounded” with a “hint of surrealism.” 

“Maybe that’s part of the reason why I like horror so much, because oftentimes it goes to this kind of unbelievable state,” Ortega explains. 

Earlier this year, Ortega revealed that she plans to direct a screenplay she’s been writing for nearly a decade.

She not only wants to direct but also star in it. 

“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 in an interview with V magazine. 

Ortega said she is grateful for the time this project has taken to get off the ground and said, “There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of. I’m just putting the puzzle pieces together in my head.”

She continued, “So I think I needed a few years of that under my belt to understand the order of doing things.” 

The Disney alum recently executive-produced Hurry Up Tomorrow, a thriller she starred in alongside Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. The Weeknd) and Barry Keoghan. 

“Everything that I’ve done in my career, I feel like there’s a reason why I didn’t make this story at an earlier time, but I’m really excited about it,” Ortega said. “I think learning how to produce and being a part of projects in that way has informed me so much.”

Wednesday returned for its sophomore season, releasing four episodes on Aug. 6. Part 1 ended with a major twist, leaving fans wanting more. Lucky for them, season 2 part 2 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 3 on Netflix.