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Jenna Ortega was supposed to return as Ellie in You season 4

10 February 2023, 11:50

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By Sam Prance

Jenna Ortega was unable to return to the show due to filming conflicts with Wednesday.

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You showrunner Sera Gamble has said that Jenna Ortega was meant to play Ellie again in season 4 but had filming conflicts.

There is no denying that Ellie (Jenna Ortega) is one of You's most iconic characters. Not only does she survive Joe Goldberg in You season 2 but she's also one of the few people who is somewhat aware of who he is and what he's capable of. At the end of season 2, Joe gives Ellie money and tells her to run away so that Love doesn't frame her for Delilah's murder.

In season 3, Ellie is mentioned multiple times and we see Joe sending more money to her. However, she never reappears in the show. Now, Sera Gamble has let slip that there were plans to bring Jenna back as Ellie in You season 4.

Is Ellie in You season 4?

Speaking to IndieWire about You season 4, Sera revealed: "We wanted to bring Ellie back and we heard, ‘Oh, Jenna is doing some show'". In other words, we were supposed to have Ellie in London. Of course, that show turned out to be Wednesday which was one of the biggest shows of 2022. Sera then added: "It’s been just such a pleasure to see Jenna this year."

Thankfully, the door is not closed to Jenna returning as Ellie in the future and Sera actually confirmed that there are plans for how she could return in future seasons. Sera teased: "We have ideas for Ellie if her schedule allows her to visit us again."

After season 2 came out, Sera teased to The Hollywood Reporter that Ellie could expose Joe in a future season: "Ellie's still in Joe's life. He's sending her money. She hates him, but he is sending her money. So that door remains open for us."

In terms of other characters returning, Sera said: "Any character who’s not dead who knows anything about Joe, it’s fair game to try to exert any justice. And any character who is dead, he has a really active imagination."

Ellie still keeps in contact with Joe in You season 3. Picture: Netflix

Jenna previously told Teen Vogue in 2019 that she would love to play Ellie again. She said: "It would be amazing to see Ellie come back and take control of her life. I just want her to be an even bigger badass. I don’t want her to come back and be extremely vulnerable and sad."

She continued: "We have to remember that even though people still find Joe somewhat charming, he’s evil, he does terrible things, and he gets away with them because of his gender and race and his position in society."

Jenna ended by saying: "[Ellie] has so much potential and so much talent that she shouldn’t waste because of him."