Jessica Chastain Clarifies Comment on “Not Doing” Evelyn Hugo

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Jessica Chastain is putting BookTok rumors to rest.

While fans have long wished to see Jessica cast as Celia St. James, a redhead starlet, in the film adaption of Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the actress recently caused a buzz when she politely declined to sign a copy of the book.

In the viral TikTok, Jessica is seen telling a fan who asked for an autograph of the book, "I can't sign that just because I'm not doing it."

While users speculated the Oscar winner's words meant she was not working on the project, Jessica offered a different explanation for the interaction.

"I've been asked multiple times by fans, to sign books that I'm not attached to contractually," she tweeted April 19. "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."

Jessica also hinted that the door isn't closed yet.

"I know how excited many you are about adaptations," she continued. "Please dont read too much into a video. There is no news about anything."

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows the life of fictional Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, whose rivalry with Celia evolves into a close friendship.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

In the past, Jessica has expressed interest in learning more about the project, which Deadline reported last March will be adapted into a Netflix movie. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live on Jan. 5, the Molly's Game star said she's aware of how much fans want her to portray Celia.

"I do know there is an online thing about it," Jessica said at the time. "Sure, send me a script."

Keep scrolling to see what other books you should read that are being adapted for the screen.

Lacey Terrell/Prime Video

Daisy Jones & The Six

Based On: Taylor Jenkins-Reid's bestselling novel of the same name
Starring: Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse, Camila Morrone, Sebastian Chacon, Nabiyah Be, Josh Whitehouse and Will Harrison
Premieres: March 3 on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: Imagine a faux music documentary about the rise and fall of a legendary '60s band (think Fleetwood Mac) starring attractive people and featuring original music with lyrics so poignant we wish AIM was still a thing so we could use them as our away messages. Prepare for sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll with a splash of Reese Witherspoon-approved sweet tea as the star serves as a producer.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Kay Scarpetta

Based On: Patricia Cornwell's mega-popular series of the same name that has 26 books in total
Starring: Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis
Premieres: TBD on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: If it's based on a book and Kidman stars in it, we will binge the s--t out of it. (See: Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and The Undoing.) Add in the fact that the Oscar winner and Curtis—who bought the Kay Scarpetta book rights back in June 2021—will be playing crime-fighting sisters and it's already become our favorite new show of the year.

HBO

White House Plumbers

Based On: The White House Plumbers: The Seven Weeks That Led to Watergate and Doomed Nixon's Presidency by Egil "Bud" Krogh and Matthew Krogh
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Domhnall Gleeson, Lena Headey, Kiernan Shipka, Ike Barinholtz, David Krumholtz, Rich Sommer,  Judy Greer, Kim Coates, Gary Cole, John Carroll Lynch and Kathleen Turner
Premieres: March on HBO
Why We're Excited: Um, do you see that stacked cast list?! The limited five-episode series is expected to look at the events directly before, during, and after the Watergate scandal, with Harrelson and Theroux playing Nixon's political advisors (and inadvertent saboteurs) E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, respectively. 

HBO

Love and Death

Based On: The series is inspired by the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, as well as a collection of articles from Texas Monthly (Love & Death In Silicon Prairie, Part I & II).
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Krysten Ritter, Jesse Plemons, Patrick Fugit, Lily Rabe, Keir Gilchrist, Elizabeth Marvel and Tom Pelphrey
Premieres: April 27 on HBO Max
Why We're Excited: Ax murderers, so hot right now. First, Jessica Biel played Dallas-area killer Candy Montgomery in Hulu's true crime drama Candy. And now, Olsen is set to play the housewife-turned-murderer, a role her recent turns in Marvel's WandaVision and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness definitely prepared her for. 

Disney Enterprises

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Based On: The Lightning Thief, the first book the beloved fantasy series written by Rick Riordan
Starring: Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, Leah Sava Jeffries, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally and Timm Sharp 
Premieres: Early 2024 on Disney+ 
Why We're Excited: Confession: While we loved the film franchise that starred Logan Lerman, we do think the source material is better suited for the TV treatment and we're so happy to be re-enrolling at Camp Half-Blood for more teen deity drama. Plus, Lin-Manuel Miranda is guest-starring as Hermes and we want to be in on the streaming service where that happens. 

Disney +

American Born Chinese

Based On: Gene Luen Yang's 2006 graphic novel
Starring: Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu
Premieres: TBD on Disney+
Why We're Excited: An action series about a battle between Gods of Chinese mythology starring future Oscar winner Yeoh and several of her Everything Everywhere All at Once co-stars? The only thing we don't like about this is that we can't watch it right now. 

P. Lehman/Future Publishing via Getty Images

The Last Thing He Told Me

Based On: Laura Dave's 2021 best-selling novel of the same name 
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Angourie Rice
Premieres: TBD on Apple TV+
Why We're Excited: The Alias star is returning to TV! Garner stepped in to replace Julia Roberts as a woman searching for her missing husband after Roberts had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict in this drama series produced by Reese Witherspoon. 

Amazon Prime

The Power

Based On: Creator Naomi Alderman's 2016 novel of the same name
Starring: Auli'i Cravalho, John Leguizamo, Halle Bush, Toheeb Jimoh, Daniela Vega, Nico Hiraga and Ria Zmitowicz
Premieres: March 31 on Amazon Prime Video
Why We're Excited: Imagine a world in which every teenage girl in the world develops the power to electrocute people at will and it's something that can't be taken away from them. Now imagine if they learn how to awaken that ability in older women as well. Like Beyonce once asked: Who run the world?

Starz; Youtube

Three Women

Based On: The non-fiction bestseller of the same name by Lisa Taddeo.
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise, Gabrielle Creevy, Blair Underwood and Sean Meehan
Premieres: TBA on Starz
Why We're Excited: One of the most relevant books of 2019, the series will explore female desire as it follows a trio of women who are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives. While Showtime initially canceled the show despite production already being completed, Starz swooped in, answering our literary battle cry.

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