The Handmaid's Tale Sequel Series in the Works

Margaret Atwood's long-awaited follow up to her 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale -- the basis for Hulu's popular series -- hits shelves next week, but it may be headed to the small screen soon as well. MGM and Hulu announced on Wednesday that they will be developing the sequel, The Testaments, for a series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, MGM and Hulu are also in discussion with The Handmaid's Tale showrunner Bruce Miller about how Atwood's sequel will be "an important extension" to the Emmy-winning series.

In The Testaments, the story picks up over 15 years after the ending of the original Handmaid's Tale novel. That ending was left very ambiguous, with Offred's fate left uncertain and The Testaments will not be told from Offred's perspective. Instead, the sequel will be narrated by three women each with their own connections to the dystopian Gilead, one of them being Aunt Lydia, a principal character of the original book as well as Hulu's series.

Hulu's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale debuted in 2017 and recently ended its third season and while the first season stayed close to Atwood's novel, subsequent seasons have expanded that world. With the series already renewed for a fourth season, it will be interesting to see where the story goes -- as well as how it ultimately connects to The Testaments, something Atwood herself spoke about with Time magazine.

"They can't keep Offred in Gilead for many more seasons, or a certain amount of wheel spinning will be going on," Atwood said. "They have to move her along -- and I've given them lots of ways of how that would happen."

You can check out the official synopsis for Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale below.

Adapted from the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized "return to traditional values." As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.

The Handmaid's Tale seasons 1-3 is currently streaming on Hulu, the season 4 premiere date hasn't yet been announced.