Yellowjackets season 3 is getting closer to taking us back to the wilderness, despite delays to the production schedule due to last year's writers' strike. We now have a release window for the new installment, which is only a few months away and means it's only a matter of time before one of the best TV shows is back on our screens.
While there aren't any official plot details out there at the moment, two new cast members have been announced, and showrunner Ashley Lyle has teased that we can expect a return to season 1 "in terms of the vibe" – and more revelations about what really down in the wilderness to come to light. There's also a mysterious bonus episode reportedly coming our way at some point, too.
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 speculation
Yellowjackets season 3 is officially coming in early 2025. There's no exact release date just yet, but we'll update you as soon as we find it.
Season 3 was commissioned in December 2022, but it has been 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.
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.
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. It's unclear if Simone Kessell, who plays adult Lottie, will be back, as the finale saw her character committed to a psychiatric institution.
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, 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, may 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. None of these returns have been confirmed yet, but it seems pretty likely. Stay tuned as more news heads our way!
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."
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 it remains to be seen whether we'll see her character in the hospital in season 3 or whether that's the last we'll see of present-day Lottie for a while.
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.
"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.
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.
