In the barren wilderness of November, a beacon of hope and bright things to come arrive. Not Christmas, but Yellowjackets season three.
A teaser dropped on X earlier this week, with the showrunners confirming the show’s return with a release date of February 14th. After all, there’s nothing more romantic than cannibalism.
Boasting a stellar cast (Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Jasmin Savoy Brown, among many others) through two timelines, Yellowjackets follows a New Jersey high school football team whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. Carefully switching between the team’s survival in the 1990s and the impact on the survivors in the present day, Yellowjackets has been slowly weaving a mystery with many questions yet to be answered.
Ahead of the season two premiere, the show was confirmed for a third season, however, production was briefly halted due to the SAG writers’ strike in 2023. In a post on X, the season 3 premiere date was confirmed alongside a teaser trailer.
The teaser shows various angles of a skull featuring a heart-shaped necklace, yellowjacket wasps, and a mysterious symbol carved into its forehead. Intercut with this image are the words “THIS VALENTINES DAY” and “EAT YOUR HEART OUT”, along with sample cuts of Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) screaming, Lottie (Courtney Eaton) being strangled, and some less discernible images, leaving much to the imagination. Without much detail, the teaser focuses on building the upcoming season’s atmosphere: one of violence, intimate rituals, and shared chaos.
Continuing to jump between timelines, season two worked on reuniting the remaining yellowjackets in the present day while attempting to fill in gaps pertaining to the more tribal aspects of their survival. With their present day lives in disarray, Lottie (Simone Kessell) convinces them to perform a ritual and let the wilderness choose a sacrifice in order to return balance, leading to a significant loss. Meanwhile, back in 1996, we follow the steps which led to the formation of the ritual and the season ends with Coach Ben unsuccessfully attempting to kill the girls in a fire, which instead leaves them all without shelter.
Not much is known about what the new season will bring, however the show has cast Hilary Swank and Joel McHale in supporting roles. A recent spread in Vanity Fair also confirmed the return of the primary cast, minus Juliette Lewis.
Catch Yellowjackets returning to the small screen next Valentine’s Day.
Words by Camille Murray
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