Handmaid’s Tale season four delayed and Elisabeth Moss’ thriller Run Rabbit Run picked up by STX

Elisabeth Moss is going to be one of Hollywood’s busiest actors once production ramps back up following the coronavirus quarantine.

The season four premiere date of her hit The Handmaid’s Tale has been officially set for sometime in 2021 which Hulu announced during its digital newfront on Monday, according to The Wrap.

Additionally, STK Entertainment just secured the distribution rights to her upcoming paranormal thriller, Run Rabbit Run.

The Handmaid’s Tale, which is based on the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel, had just begun filming in Canada when the coronavirus pandemic hit and production was forced to shut down.

Due to the delay in filming the new season, the premiere date is now pushed several months – though the exact date it still undecided.

A source close to production told The Wrap that Hulu will reveal a ‘narrower premiere window’ when producers get a date for filming on the dystopian drama to resume.  

Originally, season four was slated for release in the fall of 2020 and, with this new premiere window, there will be a huge gap in time for fans who’ve been waiting since season three wrapped up in August 2019.

Elisabeth Moss stars in the series as Offred, a ‘handmaid’ – women enslaved by the upper class in the country of Gilead (formerly the United States) for the purpose of being forced to bear children for the family due to severely declining birthrates.

The Handmaid’s Tale also stars Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer and Bradley Whitford.

When filming resumes, Moss will have quite a bit on her plate as her upcoming drama, Run Rabbit Run was just picked up for worldwide distribution by STX Entertainment.

Deadline describes the plot of the paranormal thriller as an ‘Oz-set modern-day ghost story will follow Sarah (Moss), a fertility doctor, with a firm understanding of the cycle of life. 

‘When she is forced to make sense of the increasingly strange behavior of her young daughter Mia, she must challenge her own beliefs and confront a ghost from her past.’

Elisabeth’s last film, The Invisible Man, certainly proved her prowess when it comes to thrillers and the nail-biter raked in $124 million. 

A particularly impressive number when considering that it was released in February shortly before movie theaters were shuttered because of the pandemic.  

‘Elisabeth’s outstanding performance and the huge success of The Invisible Man make her a theatrical force to be reckoned with,’ STXfilms Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson said in a statement obtained by The Wrap. 

‘A genre film that reunites Elisabeth with The Handmaid’s Tale director Daina Reid is an incredible opportunity and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this film together.’

Production on both Moss’ television series and upcoming film could get underway soon now that the industry is slowly resuming business. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently gave the green light for Hollywood studios to reopen under the guise of new safety rules.

Movie, television, and music production were allowed to resume starting June 12 after being shutdown in mid-March for COVID-19.  

Studios and unions agreed on ‘white paper’ outlining new safety protocols which include the banning of buffets, symptom screenings for cast and crew, mandatory masks. Studios must also maintain social distancing and have staggered call times.