Was Jenna Ortega supposed to be part of ‘You’ Season 4?

‘You’ showrunner Sera Gamble has revealed that the hit series hoped to bring back Jenna Ortega’s character Ellie Alves for season four.

However, in an interview with IndieWire, Gamble said that due to Ortega leading the Netflix Series ‘Wednesday,’ scheduling conflicts prevented her from partaking in both.

In the second season of the show, Joe Goldberg, Penn Badgley’s character and the lead character, leaves New York and moves to Los Angeles to start a new life. Among the new characters in his orbit were Delilah Alves and her younger sister Ellie.

“We wanted to bring Ellie back and we heard, ‘Oh, Jenna is doing some show,’” Gamble told IndieWire. “It’s been just such a pleasure to see Jenna this year. We have ideas for Ellie if her schedule allows her to visit us again.”

Joe ends up developing a friendship with Ellie, who shows him how to assimilate into the LA culture. After the elaborate murder and cover-up of her sister’s death, Joe gives Ellie cash and a plan to start a new life in Florida.

Ortega’s character has not been seen since her exit at the end of Season 2.  After Joe fakes his death in the Season 3 finale, its unclear whether Joe is still finding a way to send Ellie money.

That means that technically Ellie Alves is still alive within the complicated ‘You’ universe. However, Ortega did not return for her role in Season 4 of the series and there is no mention of Ellie within the first part of the campaign.

In the more recent episodes, Joe bonds with his student Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), which is closely reminiscent of his previous relationship with Ellie.

“To me, his relationship with Nadia is really telling,” Gamble explained. “He has such a soft spot that is truly altruistic. He has really good boundaries with young people…except when he occasionally kills their abusive stepparents, but otherwise, he’s a great mentor.”

Ortega’s busy schedule

Not only was Ortega busy with ‘Wednesday’, but she is also starring in the upcoming slasher film ‘Scream VI’, as well as three more additional films and a second season of ‘Wednesday’ in the works.

Although Ortega isn’t likely to make a ‘You’ reappearance, Gamble teased other possible familiar faces.

“Any character who’s not dead who knows anything about Joe, it’s fair game to try to exert any justice,” said Gamble. “And any character who is dead, he has a really active imagination.”

Previous ‘You’ stars include Elizabeth Lail, Victoria Pedretti, Dylan Arnold, Shay Mitchell, Carmela Zumbado, Travis Van Winkle, Shalita Grant, James Scully, Zach Cherry, John Stamos, and more.