'If I can convince her to act, I will shamelessly do it': The Testaments creator on Elisabeth Moss' surprise return as June to The Handmaid's Tale spinoff

Well, there we have it — Elisabeth Moss has officially returned to The Handmaid's Tale spinoff The Testaments as June after much uncertainty.

While June appeared in the original 2019 novel, book-to-TV changes means it wasn't automatically a given that Moss would return... despite being an executive producer on the new show.

At the end of episode 1, we see June enter a clothing store that Daisy (Lucy Halliday) was in prior to being one of Gilead's 'Pearl Girls.' The end of The Handmaid's Tale season 6 reminded us that June is fully integrated into the Mayday resistance, meaning Daisy likely has some ties to their ongoing plans.

With the first three episodes of The Testaments now on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (international), the fandom's Reddit theories can already be put to rest. But Moss' return felt like an open secret, with the show's creator confirming that he "didn't feel right" leaving June behind.

'You can't have a Gilead show without at least feeling the Juneness out there'

The Testaments | Trailer | Hulu - YouTube

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"As a character, June exists in The Testaments novel, and when Margaret [Atwood] first started to talk about the story as a TV show, we had discussions about where June would be at that point," creator Bruce Miller tells me.

"There was a 'do not kill' list that Margaret basically wrote on my chest in pen. There were lots of people on it, and June was one of them. The Handmaid's Tale lasted so long, and June became such a soul of that world, so it didn't make any sense to me to leave that behind. It just didn't feel like you could have a Gilead show without at least feeling the 'Juneness' out there."

He's not wrong. Hulu's version of The Handmaid's Tale is basically synonymous with Elisabeth Moss' face, so to not have her back for The Testaments would feel like blasphemy.

Miller continues, "If you feel it through Agnes (Chase Infiniti) or through Daisy, you feel all those kinds of pressures. You feel them through the presence of June in this world. I adore Elizabeth Moss. She's been our partner and a producer since the very beginning. If I could convince her in any way to come up and act, I will shamelessly do it."

And thank goodness Miller did. Anything could happen over the next seven episodes of The Testaments, but the sequel show will be all the richer for Moss being in it.

As producer Warren Littlefield puts it, "Lizzie's very attached to June, her journey and the message that she puts out. If June doesn't give up, why would you?"

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