For six harrowing but addictive seasons, The Handmaid's Tale, based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian book of the same name, has kept the world gripped with the story of June Osbourne's plight to be reunited with her stolen daughter, Hannah.
Over three decades after she wrote the original novel, Margaret Atwood wrote a sequel - The Testaments. Set 15 years after the events of the original story, The Testaments is now being made into a series of its own, and viewers have been wondering whether their favourite protagonist, June, is set to appear.
The following content contains spoilers for possible storylines in The Testaments and the ending of The Handmaid's Tale season 6.
Will June be in The Testaments?
Elisabeth Moss who plays June, has not been confirmed as a cast member of The Testaments, although she will be serving as executive producer on the series.
Now officially in production, it doesn't appear likely that June will appear in The Testaments in a main role, as she's only ever mentioned throughout the novel and doesn't physically appear until the very end.
Should the show remain faithful to the source material, Elisabeth Moss won't reprise her role as June but could make a cameo at the end to round both The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments off nicely.
The official Instagram page for The Testaments shared a photo for the first time recently, showing the cast at their first read-through of the script.
The picture came with the exciting caption that read, "It’s official! The Testaments, based on Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, starts production April 7. Ann Dowd will reprise her role as Aunt Lydia with Elisabeth Moss as an executive producer of the series."
Is Agnes June's Daughter in The Testaments?
Yes, Agnes, one of The Testaments central characters, is June's daughter Hannah from The Handmaid's Tale. This means that sadly, June's mission to be reunited with Hannah throughout the six seasons of The Handmaid's Tale is not realised and Hannah is still living in Gilead as a young adult.
There's further heartache for June in The Testaments - as if she hasn't suffered enough - when readers, and now viewers, will find she's also been forced to give up baby Nicole.
Another central character in The Testaments novel is Daisy, a teenage girl living in Canada. June became so wanted by Gilead, that Nicole would've been in danger had they stayed together and June sent her to live with a new family who knew of her past and were part of Mayday - and she was re-named Daisy.
Daisy is unaware of her true identity at the beginning of The Testaments, but when she finds out she goes on to play a big role in the final push to take down Gilead once and for all.
The Testaments: Cast
- Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia - viewers can expect to find out a lot more about Aunt Lydia's interesting backstory in The Testaments.
- Chase Infiniti as Agnes - Agnes is Hannah, who has grown up in Gilead after being stolen from her mother, June, as an infant.
- Lucy Halliday as Daisy, who discovers her connection to June and the Republic of Gilead when finding out she's actually baby Nicole.
- Rowan Blanchard as Shunammite - a girl from a high-ranking Gilead family.
- Mattea Conforti as Becka - from a less privileged background, Becka attends the same school as children from Gilead’s elite, but begins to question the regime.
- Mabel Li as Aunt Vidala, one of Gilead's famous Founding Aunts.
- Amy Seimetz as Paula, Agnes' complicated and unkind stepmother.
- Brad Alexander as Garth, a young Commander who helps Agnes and Daisy in their mission to take down Gilead.
- Zarrin Darnell-Martin as Aunt Gabbana, the strict right hand of Aunt Vidala.
- Eva Foote as Aunt Estee, a more relaxed and well-liked Aunt.
- Shechinah Mpumlwana as Jehosheba, another high-ranking daughter whose only mission is to achieve a high-status marriage.
- Birva Pandya as Miriam, who struggles under the pressure of marriage season and the bleak future that could await her.
- Kira Guloien as Rosa, a Martha and much-needed maternal figure to Agnes after the death of her adoptive mother.
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