The Handmaid’s Tale's finale aired on Sunday night in the UK, and has left us with so many questions for season five. But what has been said about the upcoming series so far? Here’s everything we know about the future of the show...
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Will there be a season five of The Handmaid’s Tale?
Yes! It was confirmed in December 2020 that the series would indeed be coming back for season five.
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At the time, creator Bruce Miller said: "We're very grateful to Hulu and MGM that the show will be returning for a fifth season, and especially to our loyal fans for their support. We are thrilled to be able to continue to tell these stories, with our incredible cast and crew."
He also opened up about what to expect from the new episodes, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "It's now a June-Serena thing. She will want to find a way to metaphorically or realistically get June for this.
June hit her house and she wants to hit her back. There’s that absolute toe-to-toe, woman-to-woman venom, but also, what is the relationship between two women where one killed the other’s abuser? It’s complicated.”
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Who will star in The Handmaid’s Tale season five?
Most of the main cast is likely to be returning for season five, including Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley and Alexis Bledel. The show’s creator has also revealed that other absent characters may also return in flashback scenes.
The series will also continue to star newcomer Mckenna Grace, who plays a young wife who June encounters in Gilead. Speaking about her character’s future on the show, she told The Hollywood Reporter: "She's definitely a fighter. Some people will just do it and take it but not her. She's going to put up a fight. I hope that she isn't just done and gives up because I don’t think that’s who she is!"
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There isn't an end date in mind for the series
When will The Handmaid’s Tale season five be out?
Filming has yet to begin on the new series, so it might be a while yet! Season three was released two years before season four, so fans are going to have to be patient. Bruce has revealed that he also wants to give the cast an opportunity to film their projects that were delayed during the pandemic, so get ready for the waiting game.
He said: "Honestly, a lot of the cast have projects that were unmoored because of Covid for a million reasons so even though our actors are extraordinarily flexible to fit in the work on our show, everybody has things they do.
“We want to encourage people to do things outside of the show, that’s their work and their art, they bring good stuff back but people have lined up all these jobs and now a lot of those jobs moved to after."
Season five is in the works
How many seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale are planned?
Chatting on a panel in February 2021, Bruce explained: "Every time I come upon a season, I don’t know what we’re going to do. And every time we get to the end, I’m thrilled and feel like we could go on forever and ever. I’m so excited by how crazy the [season 4] story is. As long as Lizzie [Moss] will do this with me, I’ll keep going."
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More recently, he discussed the possibility of season five being the last instalment. Talking to Deadline, he said: "I know what the end is and I’m not going to overstay my welcome but I’m also not going to rush off if I don’t have to because as long as I am writing for Elisabeth Moss, you know, it really doesn’t get much better."
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