What we know about The Testaments, the rest of The Handmaid’s Tale

The new series will be centered on Agnes, alias Hannah, June’s daughter. So what is it? And when is it?

Gilead has not finished with us. While The Handmaid’s Tale has just bowed out with a sixth intense season, fans did not have time to say goodbye to this dystopian world. The rest is already on the way, and it is called The Testaments. Inspired by the novel of Margaret Atwood Posted in 2019, this new series promises to make the link with the freezing universe of Gilead While opening a new chapter centered on a new generation … and some known faces.

When will the story take place?

Contrary to what the novel suggested, The Testaments serial version will not take place 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. Its creator, Bruce Millerconfirmed it in Variety:

“No, it can’t really be that, because it covers Hannah when she is about 14, 15 or 16 years old. So it’s about five years after The Handmaid’s Taleprobably closer to three or four, depending on our assessment – there is always a part of supposition, it is not a real world, but it is somewhere around three or four years later. “

Why this gap? Simply for reasons of narrative continuity and the age of the characters. The little Nichole, for example, is not yet in age to go to high school, which obliges the writers to adjust their timeline.

A suite, not a reboot

The Testaments will not be a “soft reboot”, but a direct, organic continuation of the world of Gilead As the series made it known to us. And Miller assures him: he intends to bring as many characters as possible.

“All those who have an hour of free, I would bring them back if I can succeed in doing that it works. (…) It is not like a sequel where we cut everything. The first group of characters counts a lot for the second. These stories are very linked.”

This means that striking figures like June or Serena could return – even if it is only by flashbacks, mentions or indirect presence.

A transition for a long time

The passage of relays between The Handmaid’s Tale And The Testaments is not an improvised turn. On the contrary. Bruce Miller And Margaret Atwood have been thinking about it for a long time:

“This pivot took place a long time ago, simply by discussions between her and me on ‘this is where I plan to go with Aunt Lydia’, and she said, ‘oh, cool.’ She told me what she wanted to do, and I was thinking about how my version could follow hers. “

This close collaboration made it possible to sketch a natural gateway between the two series, by setting the foundations for what will become of Aunt Lydiacentral character of the novel The Testamentsand the coming series.

What place for June in the following?

Even if The Testaments will follow mainly Agnes (her biological daughter), June will remain omnipresent, as a ghost presence but powerful. Miller says clearly:

“We will obviously evoke them, Luke, Nick … and give them much more room than in the book, and earlier too. Because the novel is really centered on the life of Agnes and Lydia, and their points of view, and it is only at the end that the links with the past become clear. But where we are with our version of the story, with some differences, the characters think much more actively End of the previous series. The Testamentsjust like The Handmaid’s Tale was told in flashback. So Agnes necessarily knows the whole story. “”

What a broadcast date for The Testaments ?

The series is well engaged: production is in full swing, and enthusiasm is palpable with its creator, even if it does not reveal a specific date. A broadcast in 2026 seems possible:

“We are well launched. We are in the middle of the production, and it is a real pleasure. We managed to bring a maximum of people of The Handmaid’s Tale : The technical team, Elisabeth Moss and I are working together again, Warren (Littlefield), Steve Stark, Lauren (Thorpe) … Everyone is back. It is a real pleasure to do that, and the quality of the work remains so incredible that I am amazed each time. “

And he adds:

“It will happen much earlier, I think, that it could have done it a next season of Handmaid’s. We are well advanced, and everything progresses wonderfully. I think it will be – in its own way – as fun as my show was. Really very fun. “