Jessica Chastain offers up an unsolicited pitch for a Help sequel

Help 2: Still Helping isn’t coming to a theater near you any time soon

By Matt Schimkowitz | August 15, 2023 | 4:27am

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Jessica Chastain offers up an unsolicited pitch for a Help sequel

Jessica Chastain Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez

Despite an Oscar win and the boffo B.O., The Help curdled like milk shortly after release. The years haven’t been kind to 2011's Green Book precursor, with some of the film’s stars encouraging people not to watch it. In 2020, Viola Davis all but disowned the movie, saying it was “created in the filter and the cesspool of systematic racism.”

“There’s no one who’s not entertained by The Help,” said Davis, who was nominated for an Oscar for the movie. “But there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself and my people because I was in a movie that wasn’t ready to [tell the whole truth].”

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She wasn’t alone. During the George Floyd uprising, Bryce Dallas Howard criticized the film on Facebook. “I’ve heard that The Help is the most viewed film on Netflix right now,” Howard wrote. “I’m so grateful for the exquisite friendships that came from that film—our bond is something I treasure deeply and will last a lifetime. This being said, The Help is a fictional story told through the perspective of a white character and was created by predominantly white storytellers. We can all go further.⁣”

Nevertheless, Jessica Chastain thinks there might be room for a sequel. In an interview with EW, Chastain tosses out an idea for a Help sequel.

“You know who I think about all the time, and I just wish I could play her [again]? Celia Foote,” Chastain said. “I just want to do something, Celia and Minny, and see what happened. You know they ended up living together and raising the baby together, they were best friends. How amazing would that film be? I loved her, and I got to be a bit silly.”

“Celia, it was such a deep dive for me. I really threw on that character, and I didn’t really get to mine that much material because I was a supporting part of that story. That’s a character I wish I could revisit.”

It seems unlikely that Chastain was serious or that the movie would ever happen. After all, no movies are happening right now. Still, the last thing America needs is another slice of Minny’s Chocolate Pie.

Correction: An earlier version of this article implied that Jessica Chastain had broken strike rules in discussing the film. This was incorrect as the interview was conducted prior to the strike. The article has been edited to reflect the change. We regret the error.