Jenna Ortega was asked if she’d play a female Edward Scissorhands. She said women should have their own characters, not just act in spinoffs.

• Jenna Ortega was asked if she’d play a female version of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands.
• She worked with the director on Netflix’s “Wednesday” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
• Ortega said women should have their own characters, not just act in spinoffs.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” actor Jenna Ortega was asked if she would play a female version of Tim Burton‘s “Edward Scissorhands,” and said that women should have their own characters, not just appear in spinoffs.

In the last few years, there have been a number of high-profile remakes and reboots of movies originally led by men, like 2016’s “Ghostbusters” and 2018’s “Ocean’s 8.” These often spark debate around gender-flipping characters on the big screen.

In an interview published on Tuesday, MTV asked Ortega whether she would consider starring in a female reboot of Edward Scissorhands, after collaborating with Burton on Netflix’s “Wednesday” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

“I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special. But we should have our own. 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,” she replied.

Ortega added: “The beauty of something like ‘Edward’ is the mystery, it’s very sensitive. You see, ‘Beetlejuice’ can still be original because he exists in no specific time. You could take him back to the 1800s if you really wanted to!”

The James Bond franchise often comes up in discussions around female-led reboots, particularly since Lashana Lynch was cast as the new 007 in Daniel Craig’s final Bond film, “No Time To Die.” This led to some backlash, as fans speculated whether she would become the new face of the franchise.

An ‘Edward Scissorhands’ sequel isn’t planned

In 2015, Burton told Entertainment Weekly that he probably wouldn’t direct an “Edward Scissorhands” sequel.

“No. I think things like that are nightmares. For me, they’re very singular things, and I think — yeah, some things, I easily get why you make more movies. Trilogies, and sequels, and octogoni. I get it. But for me, they’re usually just singular things,” he said.