It's almost time to go back to Gilead.
Tonight's broadcast of Super Bowl LIII brought a chilling teaser for The Handmaid's Tale Season 3. What begins as a faux feel-good Super Bowl ad complete with smiling Wives and cooing newborns turns grim. A voiceover intoning "It's morning again in America" (inspired by Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign ads according to Hulu) grows distorted and fire consumes the screen. June (Elisabeth Moss) states, "Wake up, America," as an image of Handmaids lined up in front of D.C.'s Washington monument—now fashioned into a massive crucifix—flashes onscreen. The trailer is reminiscent of a Westworld Delos ad, which, though likely unintentional, is rather clever; Handmaids are essentially breeding hosts in Gilead, after all.
The teaser features very little new footage besides that D.C. scene and fails to announce a premiere date other than "Coming Soon." It's unclear whether we'll get new episodes in April like seasons past, or if the Season 3 premiere will move to a later date
This ad kicks off a big year for the iconic Margaret Atwood novel. In addition to the Season 3 premiere, Atwood will release her sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, titled The Testaments, in September. It takes place 15 years after the events of the novel and follows three separate narrators.
"Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book," Atwood said in a statement at the time of the book's announcement. "Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in."
