Jessica Chastain Says There’s ‘Zero Possibility’ of Role in Netflix’s ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ Film

Jessica Chastain revealed that there’s “zero possibility” of her bringing Celia St. James to life in the Netflix film adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling novel “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.”

The “Molly’s Game” star had been fancast as the titular character’s longtime friend and eventual love interest, with ardent fans showing up outside her Broadway performances of “A Doll’s House” asking her to sign copies of their books even though she hadn’t been confirmed for the role.

“But I love how excited the fans are,” Chastain told E! News. “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.”

Chastain refused to sign any copies of Reid’s book and a viral TikTok video captured her declining to do so in April.

“I can’t sign that — just because I’m not doing it,” Chastain said in the video.

The actress later tweeted in response to the video to clarify her stance on possibly appearing in the film and why she didn’t want to sign the books.

“I’ve been asked multiple times by fans to sign books that I’m not attached to contractually,” she tweeted in response to the video. “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 [of] you are about adaptations. Please don’t read too much into a video,” Chastain added in a second Tweet. “There is no news about anything. Except that I’m onstage until June 10th. Hope to see you.”

The “Memory” star even welcomed a script for the film in January 2023 while speaking with Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live.”

“I do know there is an online thing about it,” Chastain said. “Sure, send me a script.”

Netflix announced in 2022 that “Tiny Beautiful Things” and “Little Fires Everywhere” scribe Liz Tigelaar was attached to pen the adaptation of Reid’s novel, through Hello Sunshine, which produced both Emmy-nominated shows as well as the Prime Video adaptation of Reid’s “Daisy Jones and the Six” starring Riley Keough. Producers include Liza Chasin for 3Dot productions and Brad Mendelsohn for Circle of Confusion. Reid and Margaret Chernin are set to executive produce.

The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported that Tigelaar is also attached to executive produce an adaptation of Reid’s “Malibu Rising” for Hulu. Reid’s “One True Loves” film adaptation, starring Simu Liu, Philippa Soo and Luke Bracey hit screens in April 2023 and the rights to her most recent novel, “Carrie Soto Is Back” were won by Picturestart for adaptation. “Carrie Soto Is Back,” “Malibu Rising,” “Daisy Jones & the Six” and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” are known as Reid’s “Big Four” books with characters that are connected.

The best-selling novel, in which the main character and Hollywood starlet Evelyn Hugo confesses all of her secrets to a lesser-known journalist, was previously in development for a series at Freeform.

The post Jessica Chastain Says There’s ‘Zero Possibility’ of Role in Netflix’s ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ Film appeared first on TheWrap.