Could This Mean No More 'Gilmore Girls' Episodes?

It's a role that feels Rory Gilmore-approved. On Thursday, it was announced that Alexis Bledel will be starring in Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, which is set to debut on April 26. Bledel will be playing Ofglen, a handmaid subjected to a male-run society where woman are solely used to reproduce. Based Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, the character initially appears outwardly compliant, but has her own ways of rebelling. And while I'm excited to see the blue-eyed actor in a fresh new role, I have to wonder what Bledel's new series could mean for the fate of Gilmore Girls. Could this be the nail in the coffin for Netflix's reboot?

I know that it's hard for some of you to even consider. You may have wanted a more satisfying conclusion after being left on a cliffhanger by those last four words. Perhaps you needed a more solid romantic endgame for our girl. Perhaps you wanted a more solid career endgame for our girl (because let's face it, watching that was incredibly stressful in itself). Or maybe you weren't so put off by Stars Hollow the Musical that you just honestly thought Gilmore Girls 2.0 was a rollicking good time.

You're allowed to your opinions and desires, and it's fair to say Netflix has been lightly teasing more of the series with social media grabs here and there. I just wouldn't get too excited. Given the overall outrage about Rory's behavior, the Herculean task of summoning the Gilmore Girls cast, and the fact that (whether you loved it or not) the series ended the way Amy Sherman-Palladino intended, it seems very unlikely. And seeing Bledel in a new project, particularly one with a different streaming service, certainly suggests she wants to step away from the GG aftermath.

Now does that mean more episodes are definitely never happening? Certainly not. Right now, The Handmaid's Tale is only slated for 10 episodes. As a technicality, Bledel could wrap up shooting for that and then film new GG episodes in spring like they did last year. And with said social media posts, Netflix seems to be taking a pulse of whether fans would, in fact, be receptive to a continuation of the Gilmores' story. However, I would say that if there were plans to move forward with the series, it might not happen this year, or even for another few years.

But what do I know? Ultimately, nothing is set in stone, so if you're pro-Gilmore Girls, you don't have to panic just yet. And until we get anything formal confirmed, you'll definitely be excited to see Bledel rock a feminist role that would have the old Rory Gilmore — you know, the one who used to read books and have some semblance of a moral compass — proud.