Elisabeth Moss reveals she 'didn't want to pass the torch' to The Testaments cast

Elisabeth Moss has revealed that she had no intention of "passing the torch" to the cast of The Testaments - the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale - saying she preferred not to influence their performances.

The actress, best known for her role as June Osborne in The Handmaid's Tale, serves as a producer on the sequel series, which is set 15 years after the events of the original show.

Speaking at the Vulture Fest panel on Saturday, Moss explained that she was careful not to overstep when working alongside the new cast.

"It's a funny thing because there is a sort of sense of passing the torch (to) the next generation," she said. "I get asked, obviously, a fair amount, like, 'What have you taught these girls or what have you passed on?' And I always say, for me, I didn't want to pass the torch. I wanted them to light a new one. It was not about that at all."

Moss praised the cast - including Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday and Rowan Blanchard - describing them as "professionals".

"They know what they're doing there. It wasn't any different than working with (actress) Ann Dowd," she stated. "I didn't feel like I had to teach them anything."

The Invisible Man actress added that she felt it was the right moment to evolve the franchise creatively.

"And, in a way, you also don't want to mess with the freshness of it," she shared. "That's one of the things I think we were really excited about, was the idea that we do want something a little bit new."

She added, "I mean, no offense to me, but we did watch (The Handmaid's Tale) for a while, and it was great, and it's time to maybe do something a little new."

The first 10-episode season of The Testaments is available to watch on Hulu and Disney+, and the series has already been renewed for a second season.