Yellowjackets Season 3: Latest News, Bonus Episode, Cast, and Everything Else to Know

It's hard to stop thinking about Yellowjackets. The drama about a high school girls soccer team stranded in the woods and haunted by demons — both metaphorical and (potentially) real — still has viewers buzzing after two seasons. What did those New Jersey teens get up to in the wilderness in the '90s? And what mysteries are still following the surviving women in the present? Tell us, Antler Queen!

Here's everything we know so far about the series' return for a third season, including what the plot might entail, who will star, and when it could premiere.

Yellowjackets Season 3 latest news

Hilary Swank has joined the cast of Yellowjackets Season 3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor will "make her first appearance in the latter stages of the season." 

Yellowjackets Season 3 renewal

Even though the second season didn't premiere until March 2023, Showtime announced the show's renewal for Season 3 in December 2022. 

"With Yellowjackets' runaway success in Season 1 and the pent-up anticipation for Season 2, we wanted to maximize the momentum by fast-tracking Season 3 now," Showtime and Paramount Media Networks President and CEO Chris McCarthy said in a statement, according to Deadline. "The show's ambition is only exceeded by its execution."

Yellowjackets Season 3 release date prediction

No premiere date has been announced yet, but the show announced that it had begun production on Season 3 in May 2024. That means the new season can likely be expected in 2025.

Production on the third season was delayed in 2023 when writers and actors went on strike for fair wages. On May 2, 2023, co-creator Ashley Lyle posted on Twitter that the writers room had been back for one day before the writers strike started. "I'm very excited to get back to it as soon as the WGA gets a fair deal," Lyle tweeted. 

While there's still a while to wait before fans see Season 3, it might not be quite as long before they see their favorite Yellowjackets return to their TV screens in a bonus episode. "There will be a bonus episode between seasons," Lyle tweeted in June 2023. 

Because Season 1 of the show had 10 episodes and Season 2 only had 9, fans began theorizing that there would be an extra episode. Lyle clarified in June 2023 that it wouldn't be coming out soon, but that fans could expect to see it closer to Season 3. 

Yellowjackets Season 3 cast

The Hollywood Reporter shared on Sept. 30 that Yellowjackets Season 3 is adding Hilary Swank to its cast. She will appear in a recurring role — though no other information has been shared about her character — and will "make her first appearance in the latter stages of the season," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Joel McHale will appear in Season 3 in a guest role, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The details of the part are currently unknown. 

It's likely that much of the main cast from Season 2 will return. However, it's unclear what role — if any — Juliette Lewis will have as adult Natalie Scatorccio in Season 3. Adult Nat did die at the end of Season 2, but Ella Purnell returned as ghost version of her character Jackie in a few episodes of Season 2, so anything is possible with Yellowjackets.

Yellowjackets main cast:

• Melanie Lynskey as adult Shauna Shipman
• Tawny Cypress as adult Taissa Turner
• Christina Ricci as adult Misty Quigley 
• Juliette Lewis as adult Natalie "Nat" Scatorccio
• Sophie Nélisse as teenage Shauna Shipman
• Jasmin Savoy Brown as teenage Taissa Turner
• Samantha Hanratty as teenage Misty Quigley
• Sophie Thatcher as teenage Natalie "Nat" Scatorccio
• Simone Kessell as adult Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews 
• Lauren Ambrose as adult Vanessa "Van" Palmer
• Courtney Eaton as teenage Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews
• Liv Hewson as teenage Vanessa "Van" Palmer
• Kevin Alves as teenage Travis Martinez
• Steven Krueger as Coach Ben
• Warren Kole as adult Jeff Sadecki
• Sarah Desjardins as Callie Sadecki
• Elijah Wood as Walter Tattersall 
• John Reynolds as Matt Saracusa

How to watch Yellowjackets

Both seasons of Yellowjackets are available to stream on Paramount+ With Showtime. You can also stream it on Prime Video with Paramount+. Plus, you can purchase episodes or seasons on Apple TV or Google Play.