Jessica Chastain Wants to Do a Sequel for The Help

Jessica Chastain would like to revisit The Help. The Dark Phoenix and George & Tammy star told EW that of all the various characters she has played, one that she thinks about “all the time” and wishes she could play again is her The Help character, Celia Foote. Chastain even has an idea for what a sequel for The Help might look like, centering around her character and Octavia Spencer’s Minny and what might have happened for the two women after the story presented on screen.

“You know who I think about all the time, and I just wish I could play her [again]? Celia Foote,” Chastain said. “I just want to do something, Celia and Minny, and see what happened. You know they ended up living together and raising the baby together, they were best friends. How amazing would that film be? I loved her, and I got to be a bit silly.”

In The Help, which was released in 2011, Chastain’s Celia is a housewife in Jackson, Mississippi who has been ostracized by the socialites in the community and is need of a maid. She ends up hiring Minny — who had been cruelly fired by her previous employer and former love interest of Celia’s husband — and soon becomes Celia’s confidant and only friend with Celia opening up about her multiple miscarriages and Minny opening up about the abuse she’s suffering at home. Celia’s story in the film ends with Johnny offering Minny a permanent job working for them because of her kindness to Celia (and her cooking), allowing Minny and her children to leave their abusive situation, leaving the door open for Celia and Minny to continue to develop a friendship.

“A lot of my characters I feel like I got to experience a lot,” Chastain continued. “Celia, it was such a deep dive for me. I really threw out that character and I didn’t really get to mine that much material, because I was a supporting part of that story. That’s a character I wish I could revisit.

Who Else Starred in The Help?

In addition to Chastain and Spencer, The Help starred Emma Stone, Viola Clark, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, and more. The film was written and directed by Tate Taylor based on Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name.

Chastain Previously Confirmed She’s Not Attached to Netflix’s Evelyn Hugo Movie

While Chastain would like revisit her The Help character, there’s another literary adaptation that the actor previously confirmed that she is not attached to, despite being a popular fancast for a major character in the story. That adaptation would be Netflix’s upcoming The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo film.

“I’ve been asked multiple times by fans, to sign books that I’m not attached to contractually,” Chastain explained on Twitter earlier this year. “Because it feels wrong, and like I’m taking credit for someone else’s work, I’ll say I can’t 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 don’t read too much into a video. There is no news about anything. Except that I’m onstage until June 10th. Hope to see you #ADollsHouse“

What do you think about Chastain’s comments about The Help? Let us know in the comment section!