Yellowjackets season 3 finally has a release date – one of the best TV shows is returning to our screens in time for Valentine's Day and, according to showrunner Ashley Lyle, we need to "buckle up this season. The cannibalism cat is out of the bag" (via EW).
There aren't any official plot details out there yet but, thanks to a brand new teaser trailer, we've got plenty to – ahem – dig our teeth into when it comes to theorizing about what's in store. This includes the return of Ella Purnell's Jackie (well, sort of), someone with murderous intentions on the present-day survivors, and some brand new players in the game.
We dive into all that and more in our complete guide to Yellowjackets season 3, but be warned – there are major Yellowjackets season 2 spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution if you're not up to date with the series yet.
Yellowjackets season 3 release date
Yellowjackets season 3 will premiere on February 14, 2025. The release date was announced with a spooky teaser clip, which you can watch below.
There was originally meant to be a bonus episode airing between season 2 and season 3, but that's since been delayed. "The truth is that there is a bonus episode but we may need to wait a bit longer for it," showrunner Ashley Lyle told EW.
Season 3 was commissioned in December 2022, but was subject to major delays due to last year's writers' and actors' strikes. The writers' room finally reopened in September 2023, and filming kicked off in May 2024 in Canada.
Save room for Season 3. #Yellowjackets returns February 14, 2025 only on #ParamountPlus with SHOWTIME Plan. pic.twitter.com/tB0uwGsBozNovember 19, 2024
Yellowjackets season 3 trailer
The first trailer for Yellowjackets season 3 is here, which gives us our best look yet at what to expect from the next installment of the show.
The clip opens with Mari being chased through the woods, backing up the popular fan theory that she's the "pit girl" we saw get killed at the start of season 1. Elsewhere in the wilderness, we also get glimpses of Coach Ben and a noose, ritualistic behavior from the girls, and Shauna attempting to usurp Nat as the Antler Queen.
In the present day, Taissa and Van share a kiss as Tai catches a glimpse of the Man with No Eyes over Van's shoulder, Shauna receives a letter marked with the symbol of the wilderness from "someone who wants to kill us", and Elijah Wood is back as Walter. It looks like Shauna is also set to get a hallucinatory visit from Jackie thanks to a surprise appearance from Ella Purnell. Plus, there's a new survivor in the picture, played by Hilary Swank, who we get a glimpse of right at the end of the trailer. And, assuming she's just been reunited with the others, she doesn't look too pleased to see them...
Yellowjackets season 3 cast
There are at least two new faces making their Yellowjackets debut in season 3: Community and The Bear star Joel McHale has joined the series in a guest role, while Hilary Swank has been cast in a recurring role. Any further details about their characters are still being kept firmly under wraps, however, but it looks like Swank might be playing another present-day survivor. Based on physical similarities to the teenage characters, this could be Melissa, but we'll have to wait to find out for sure. Another big reveal from the first trailer was the return of Ella Purnell as Jackie, who seems to be haunting present-day Shauna. Go figure.
We also know who definitely won't be making a return for season 3 – in the present-day timeline, Juliette Lewis and Alex Wyndham won't be returning as the adult version of Nat and police officer Kevyn Tan, as they both died in the season 2 finale.
Meanwhile, in the '90s timeline, there were two characters who didn't make it to the end of the season, Javi and Crystal. Their actors, Luciano Leroux and Nuha Jes Izman, therefore won't be returning for season 3 – unless, of course, the other surviving characters experience any flashbacks or hallucinations.
Speaking of surviving characters, let's reel off who we can expect to return for season 3. In the present day, that's Melanie Lynskey as Shauna, Tawny Cypress as Taissa, Christina Ricci as Misty, Simone Kessell as Lottie and Lauren Ambrose as Van, along with Warren Kole as Shauna's husband Jeff and Sarah Desjardins as their daughter Callie. Elijah Wood's character, musical theater fan and murderous billionaire Walter, will also return.
Back in the wilderness, there's Sophie Nélisse as teen Shauna, Jasmin Savoy Brown as teen Taissa, Samantha Hanratty as teen Misty, and Liv Hewson as teen Van, along with Sophie Thatcher as teen Nat. There's also Kevin Alves as Travis and Steven Kreuger as Ben.
Yellowjackets season 3 plot
There aren't any official plot details about Yellowjackets season 3 just yet, but co-creator Ashley Lyle has hinted at what we might be able to expect. "I will say we see season 3 as a little bit of a return to season 1 in terms of the vibe. All I will say is that the girls have been out there [in the wilderness] for a while, and they’re thriving," Lyle told The Wrap.
It looks like we can expect the two timelines to start to come together, according to Lyle. "The two timelines always felt like the linchpin to the show for us," she told Vanity Fair. "This season is really when we start bringing those pieces together. That was always the plan. It is very satisfying to have elements of this season that were planned from the very beginning. I cannot get into specifics, I wish I could, but there are a couple of big things in this season that were in the very initial pitches before we even took it out to networks, that we’ve finally got the chance to execute and to play out. The satisfaction of having something in your brains for that long and finally having it come to pass is very exciting."
We have our first look at the new season via EW, which shows Taissa, Van, Jeff, and Shauna at Nat's funeral and Taissa and Van getting close and personal in the present-day timeline, as well as tensions rising in the group in the wilderness ("What we see is a continuation of some of the tensions and resentments that were building in season 2," Lyle told the publication. "And those really play a large part in how the girls continue to interact this season."). You can see all the images below.
The end of season 2 also left us with plenty of unanswered questions that give us some idea of where things may go. "There are at least two very big questions with very clear answers," Lyle teased to Vanity Fair. Let's start with the present-day timeline: Taissa's sleepwalking still needs to be addressed – namely, what causes it and, more crucially, what exactly she does when she's unconscious – as well as what happened to Simone, who was still in the hospital post-car accident when we last saw her in season 2 and their son Sammy (who we assume someone is looking after while his mother reunites with her high school ex…).
Plus, there's her relationship with Van and where that will head in the wake of season 2, as well as the events of the past season on her career – she did disappear for a week after just being elected as a state senator, after all. Speaking of Van, it seems like she may not have long to live after she told Taissa that she has terminal cancer. Could a deal with the wilderness possibly prolong – or save – her life?
Misty has her own demons to deal with in the aftermath of Nat's death, and there's also the issue of Walter. Can he be trusted? And what is his game plan with Misty? Hopefully, we will find out in season 3. As for Lottie, she was carted away in an ambulance at the end of season 2 for another stint of psychiatric care but, judging by the trailer and the quick glimpse we get of Simone Kessell, it doesn't look like that's the last we'll see of present-day Lottie.
As for the '90s timeline, we're still wondering who Javi's 'friend' is – could they become a more prominent figure in season 3, especially now that the girls are without shelter after their cabin burnt down? And, on a similar note, will the girls find out that it was Ben who set fire to their home? There's also the issue of where they'll go to survive the rest of the winter. Plus, Sophie Thatcher recently teased to Vanity Fair that things are set to get "really dark" for Natalie.
"We are going to learn more about what happened in the wilderness that they are so afraid of coming out. We hope it will be both satisfying and at times unexpected," Lyle told Vanity Fair. "The stakes are pretty high in the present-day storyline, perhaps in a way that they did not feel in season two, and that was really exciting for us to delve into."
We're also curious to see the evolution of their hunting ritual – what we saw in season 2 when the girls chased Nat through the woods is not quite what we see in the opening scene of the pilot. The girls in that scene are decked out in masks and animal furs, and they have a pit that the girl they're pursuing falls into. The first trailer for season 3 hints at a scene that bears more resemblance to that, though – and probably spells bad news for Mari.
While we wait for Yellowjackets to return, fill out your watch list with our guide to the best new TV shows coming our way in 2024 and beyond.
