Jessica Chastain Addresses The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Movie Rumors

A movie adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is in the works, promising to bring Taylor Jenkins Reid's beloved novel to life onscreen. Updates surrounding the Netlix film have been far and few between, outside of the confirmation that Star Wars: The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland is lined up to direct the project. At the time of this writing, no casting decisions have been made for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain is setting the record straight about her potential involvement. In a recent interview with E! News, Chastain, who has been seen among fans as a fancast for Celia St. James for several years now, confirmed that there is "zero possibility" she joins the movie adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

"But I love how excited the fans are," Chastain added. "When I was working on Broadway, every single day, they'd be outside, when I was signing, with the books. I just love how wonderful that fan base is. I look forward to watching it and I'm sorry to disappoint everyone out there!"

How Does Jessica Chastain Feel About The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo?

Since The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was first published in 2017, Chastain has remained a popular fancast for Celia, a rival Hollywood actress who plays an increasingly-important role in Evelyn Hugo's life. Earlier this year, after a fan asked Chastain to sign their copy of Evelyn Hugo while at the stage door for her production of A Doll's House, the actress took to Twitter to explain why she feels like she shouldn't autograph anything tied to the project.

"I've been asked multiple times by fans, to sign books that I'm not attached to contractually," Chastain explained. "Because it feels wrong, and like Im taking credit for someone else's work, I'll say I cant sign because I'm not doing it. That doesn't mean I've read a bad script. I know how excited many you are about adaptations. Please dont read too much into a video. There is no news about anything."

What Is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo About?

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows reclusive Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo, who chooses an unknown reporter, Monique Grant, to tell her life story. Evelyn recounts her time in the Golden Age of Hollywood, her rise to fame, and her seven marriages – revealing stunning secrets and lies. But through it all one question remains: Why has she chosen Monique for her final confession?

An adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has been in the works in some capacity since 2019, with Freeform and Fox 21 Television Studios originally planning to develop it. That adaptation would have been written by Reid with Jennifer Beals and The L Word's Ilene Chaiken producing, but fell out when Freeform no longer owned the rights to the project in 2021.

"I just decided that what I wanted to do was tell a heartbreakingly honest story, and you might like Evelyn and you might not like her," Reid explained in a 2017 interview with PopSugar. "My guess is most people, regardless of whether they like her or not, will respect her. That's another thing that, as I get older, I'm realizing can be diametrically opposed when it comes to being a woman. Being likable and being respected are sometimes something we have to choose between. As I grow as a person, I'm trying to err towards the latter, that I would rather be respected than liked, and I think my characters are going in that direction."