Yellowjackets began with a snowy sacrifice, which the show still hasn’t entirely clarified as of the second season finale. That lingering mystery and others await answers, and after Showtime released the first season on Netflix, a growing audience is not only looking to fully catch up but also find out what’s in store for the survivors in the third season coming soon to Showtime.
That return will be a bittersweet one, considering that Juliette Lewis will not be returning as adult Nat, thanks to adult Misty’s (Christina Ricci) habit of harboring lethal weapons that sometimes land on the wrong targets. That’s only one way that the entire Yellowjackets gang is doomed even if they survived the 1990s plane crash and what was out there in the Canadian wilderness. Let’s get down to morbid business on what will be coming next.
Plot
First thing’s first, a new teaser trailer highlights how the ladies really start to lose it this season, even beyond cannibalism that has already surfaced. Shauna is shown regretting not “eating” somebody else sooner (no subtlety there) while Misty may or may not have stabbed Shauna in the present. Also, the ghost of Ella Purnell’s Jackie has shown up, presumably to ratchet up Shauna’s tension. Since the background of this trailer moment ^^^ does not take place in the wilderness, we can only assume that she will be haunting Shauna in the present. Also, the trailer previews Hilary Swank’s mystery character (with no clues on who she is), who is having an awful time.
Series co-creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson have been upfront about their intent for a five-season run for this series, which covers the 19 months of surviving and the ongoing aftermath that brought the core four back together again in the present. As noted above, that core group will be missing Nat, and in the past, Nat will have survived the hunting ritual (unlike accidental casualty Javi) and has been crowned the new Antler Queen. Lyle recently told Vanity Fair, “She has a lot of life to live and a lot of story to tell. And the fact that there is a future self that met a tragic end is really the most universal thing that we could probably do on a television show.”
The accompanying photoshoot, however, is haunting while revealing the older and younger versions of Taissa, Misty, Shauna, Van, and Lottie as pairs with Nat looking awfully lonely. Lyle has promised, “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. And I think that we have found ourselves-let me think of how to say this. [Pause] The stakes are pretty high in the present-day storyline, perhaps in a way that they did not feel in season two.” In other words, “This season is really when we start bringing those pieces together.”
Lyle has revealed in a Twitter/X thread that violent threats did come her way after Natalie’s death in the second season finale. She pushed forth to help craft the story picking up with survivors’ cabin loss, and co-creator Bart Nickerson recently assured Entertainment Weekly that the girls will fight to further adapt: “I think that people will be surprised by their resourcefulness in the face of their continued survival.”
Of course, the series has also showed the survivors being rescued and not exactly enthused to return to civilization for mysterious reasons. Clarity is sorely needed on that front, and Christina Ricci previously suggested that the third season will be “brutal,” but “they also put a lot of comedy into it,” and the series will remain “extremely Yellowjackets-y.”
Now what we really need are clues on the upcoming soundtrack.
[Waits patiently]
Cast
Sadly, Juliette Lewis has left the building, although Sophie Turner will keep Nat going. She will be joined by fellow survivors portrayed by Samantha Hanratty, Courtney Eaton, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Liv Hewson, and in the present day, Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Tawny Cypress will still be attempting (and failing) to keep their sh*t together.
Meanwhile, Cobra Kai fans who have been rooting for Hilary Swank to surface will find that she’s joined this series. And The Bear villain Joel McHale is onboard for a mystery guest role.
Release Date
Get ready for a bloody Valentine’s Day. The third season will debut two episodes on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 via the Paramount+ with Showtime streaming service. Showtime will then air those episodes on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Trailer
Since we’ve already included the new teaser trailer, here’s a previous compilation trailer that urges viewers to revisit the first two seasons.
