Yellowjackets Season 3: Release Date, Cast, Trailer, & Everything You Need to Know

©Showtime Networks Inc./Courtesy Everett Collection

Warning: this post contains some spoilers for Yellowjackets season 2.

If you have been counting down the days for Yellowjackets season 3 ever since the show got the green light in December 2022, you've come to the right place.

Since its premiere in 2021, Yellowjackets has become quite the phenomenon, collecting multiple Emmy nominations and even more fans along the way. Set in two different timelines, the show follows the WHS Yellowjackets, a girls' soccer team from Wiskayok High School in New Jersey, in the '90s after suffering from a plane crash and in the 2020s as survivors.

If you've watched Yellowjackets, you'd know the show has it all — from romance and friendship to cannibalism, murder, and big ol' cliffhangers. If you are looking for more answers about Yellowjackets season 3, we have compiled everything you need to know in this post. Keep reading for it all or jump to your preferred section using the arrows below.

→ Release date
→ Bonus episode
→ Plot
→ Production
→ Cast
→ Trailer

When will Yellowjackets season 3 come out?

Showtime announced Yellowjackets has been renewed for season 3 in Decemeber 2022, just a few months after the season 2 premiere in March. However, as confirmed to Deadline by executive producers Ashley Lyle, Jonathan Lisco and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets season 3 won't hit our screens until 2025. The show was among those affected by the delays caused by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. The writers room for season 3 shut down just one day after the WGA strike started in early May 2023 and, per Deadline, resumed in early October 2023. But don't despair, there is some good news, which we'll discuss in the next point. Next!

Will there be a special episode before Yellowjackets season 3 premieres?

Yes! Since the wait has been so long, series co-creator Ashley Lyle confirmed a special bonus episode will be released before the official Yellowjackets season 3 premiere, essentially bridging the two seasons.

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What will Yellowjackets season 3 be about?

Yellowjackets season 3 is expected to pick up where season 2 left off — or at least we need it to. On X, Ashley Lyle teased the series would get “weirder” shortly after the season 2 finale, which, by the way, broke a streaming record for Showtime with 1.5 million viewers.

“Are we gonna get weirder? Probably! Will the fallout of *redacted*’s death affect our (anti)heroes in massive ways?” Lyle wrote on X. “Will our girls’ struggle to survive against the elements (and themselves) get even down and dirtier? Do we still have to tell the story of Pit Girl? You betcha!”

Christina Ricci, who plays adult Misty and was responsible for killing [redacted] during season 2, also claimed season 3 would up the ante a little. “This season is going to be even more shocking and surprising than the previous seasons,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s definitely going to be brutal. But they also put a lot of comedy into it. So I think it’s just going to be… extremely Yellowjackets-y.”

Speaking to The Wrap in March 2024, Lyle said season 3 will be “a little bit of a return to season 1 in terms of the vibe.” Lest we forget, Lyle had admitted the plan is to have 5 seasons in total. She said: “Five is still currently the plan, but we’re big believers in the idea that the story will tell us when it’s over. We just want to tell the best story that we can and so that means not rushing, and it also means not dragging things out. And we’ll find the natural conclusion point."

Director Karyn Kusama admitted on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast that season 3 will explore the new 1998 timeline introduced in season 2 after the survivors re-enter the world.

“The concept of that immediate aftermath of re-entry into the world, to me, there’s a whole season worth of material there," Kusama said. "And the fact that this is such a long game that each of these characters is facing, in terms of reorienting themselves to whatever normalcy is supposed to be. I'm sure we’re going to learn that their normal is a lot different than our normal … There's a lot that needs to be figured out between season 2 and season 3."

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Samantha Hanratty (a.k.a. teenage Misty) said “Season 1 was chaotic and messy. Season 2 was still and cold and dark and it was winter and then [season 3] feels like it’s gonna be the meltdown. We’re gonna see the melting of, like, what these people are.”

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Has filming for Yellowjackets season 3 started?

Yes! The cast and crew of Yellowjackets has been hard at work in Vancouver filming season 3 since May 2024. The official Yellowjackets Instagram account announced season 3 had started production on May 14, 2024, sharing a few exclusive photos from the set. “We know you're starving,” the account captioned the post, which you can see below:

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Who's in the cast of Yellowjackets season 3?

We know who's not in the cast of Yellowjackets season 3: Juliette Lewis, since her character Natalie was, well, accidentally killed, during the season 2 finale. That said, Sophie Thatcher is still reprising her role as teenage Natalie for Yellowjackets season 3.

Related: Yellowjackets Star Sophie Thatcher Is Game to Explore Natalie’s Dark Side

Christina Ricci, who plays adult Misty on the show is also set to reprise her role and is already lamenting not acting alongside Lewis. “We bonded and spent so much time together, and we just really loved each other. It was really sad for her character to be killed off. Even now, we’ve filmed a couple of episodes, and it’s sad without Juliet," she told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2024.

Other cast members returning for season 3 are: Samantha Hanratty as teenage Misty, Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse as adult and teenage Shauna, Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as adult and teenage Taissa, Simone Kessell and Courtney Eaton as adult and teenage Lottie, Lauren Ambrose and Liv Hewson as adult and teenage Van, Kevin Alves as teenage Travis and Steven Krueger as Coach Be. Elijah Wood is also confirmed to return as Walter.

You can see the cast members in action in the video below:

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Is there a trailer for Yellowjackets season 3?

Since filming has only just begun, Yellowjackets season 3 does not yet have an official trailer. However, the Yellowjackets Instagram account did post a teaser of sorts after production started. The small clip, which you can watch below, features the show's theme song and gives us a glimpse of the season 3 scripts and sets.

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This post will continue to be updated as news about Yellowjackets season 3 breaks.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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